Make no mistake, I’m writing this letter to me as well as to you. We are the ones that live life a little differently. Some of us, a lot differently.

There’s a lot of cool stuff going on down this unpaved path. We’re the crazy friend, that relative the kids love, the one introduced with a disclaimer. We’re genuine, curious, skeptical, honest. We surround ourselves with people that love us and accept us and think we’re great.

Great.

But here’s the thing. There will come a time (or two, or three…) when we ask ourselves if we’re really up for this—to keep navigating this road less traveled.

There will be times we answer proudly, “Hell yeah!” or at least, “Whatever!” And there will come a day or week or month when there is no response. Our question met with a pregnant pause. Until eventually we find ourselves cowering in the corner, whispering, “I really don’t know.”

We may consider turning around. Starting over. Giving in. Or we may realize that it’s simply too late, we’ve come too far, we lost that option. We lost a few options, maybe.

And when this happens, we need to remember this:

Back when we first made this brave choice, we were younger, a little naive, maybe we didn’t truly get how deep these waters could go, but we did know one thing. We knew what we were opting out of. We said no to something, someone, some popular notion that was not right for us. And that will always be the right choice.

We might fail, however we choose to define that. And it can happen to anyone, regardless of which path they choose. Nobody knows how it’s gonna shake out.

But here is what we do know. The alternative, the smoother, easier, popular choice, would have been made out of fear. And we love and respect ourselves too much for that. Fear is no foundation. It is quick sand. That road will cave in. It will pull us down with it. And It will bury us.

In any case, regret is not our style. So let’s stop it.

If this were easy, if we were guaranteed a rose garden in the end, everyone would do it. And this path was not made for everyone. This path is for the risk takers, the rule breakers, the ones who are a little too much, that keep it maybe just a little too real.

And that is our style.

Love, but more to the point, respectfully,

~ your fellow traveler, limping next to you, and doing great 

~

~

Author: Jenny Spitzer

Images: Flickr/Karah Levely-Rinaldi

Editor: Travis May