I think my younger self would be pretty proud of me

I didn't expect to cry while writing this post.

Freedom is easy to take for granted when you've never lived without it.

My parents grew up in East Germany behind a wall. I didn't.

And the older I get, the more I realise how much that difference has shaped my life.

Sometimes I imagine a conversation with my younger self...

"You moved to another country by yourself?"

Yes.

"You speak English every day?"

Most days more than German.

"You can just buy a plane ticket and go?"

Yes.

"You went to Bali to become a yoga teacher?"

I know. That one surprised me too.

"People invest their time (and money in the future) so you can ask them questions?"

That's coaching. And somehow, yes.

"You're quitting your job without having the next one lined up?"

Yes.

"Isn't that scary?"

Very.

"Then why do it?"

Because some opportunities cost more when you don't take them.

Growing up, I never imagined I would live abroad, build an international career, travel the world, become a coach, or train as a yoga teacher. The older I get, the more I realise that none of those things feel normal to me. They feel like possibilities that previous generations of my family never had.

Maybe that's why I've always felt drawn to explore, learn, travel, and try things that feel slightly outside my comfort zone. Not because I believe every dream will work out.

But because I can try. Because I can choose.

Because I have the freedom to try.

Sometimes it feels like the best way to honour the generations before me is not to play it safe with opportunities they never had.

It's to use them. To see what's possible. To live a life that would have felt impossible not that long ago.

And I think my younger self would be pretty proud of that. :-)