Katie

How are you feeling today?

l am feeling full of potential, with too many ideas and not enough time. It's a happy, energetic mood.

What are you most proud of?

l find that I am most proud of authentically being myself. That seems to be the common thread through the dimensions of my life that bring me the most fulfillment.

What is your biggest learning in life so far?

l’ve had many pivots from what I expected from life. Sometimes limitations and harsh realities come crashing down all at once. l've learned that it’s OK to be angry and that all the very uncomfortable feelings during these times are quite normal and good teachers. Other people don’t always like to see the underbelly of this experience but that’s their problem and not ours to hold.

What are your hopes for the future?

l hope to have a cozy life with lots of connections with other people without kids.

What would you tell your younger self?

“Oh, it’s all going to come out in the wash, Katie! At some point you will look around and realize that your sense of a wide-open future has grown shorter in years, but you will continue to find new possibilities. Also, please buy all those vintage clothes you love in thrift shops in 1993 that are only fifty cents each. They won’t always be so plentiful or cheap, and one day your 1993 will be someone else’s vintage.”

When or where are you happiest?

l am my happiest being alone in nature. This was a surprising thing to find out about myself a decade ago as I do really enjoy being with people too. l feel settled and connected in the woods and it reminds me of my very favorite parts of childhood. I'm pretty much an ambivert and when it comes to being outside, l relate to well to the part of Mary Oliver's poem How I Go Into The Woods that reads: “If you have ever gone to the woods with me, l must love you very much.”

What would you like to say to wider society?

Childless people asking you to hear their story does not take away from your own. We are all in this life together and every story has value.