What are you going to be doing in your next chapter of life? It’s a question I’ve been asked more than once recently. For now, I’m keeping the details close to my heart, but my answer is simple yet profound: “I’m going to find myself.”
Turning 50 has stirred something inside of me. And before I go further, I want to say this loud and clear—I love being 50. I really do. While society might try to paint midlife as a crisis, I see it as a pivotal moment. I’ve lived so much life, and the thought of what’s still ahead excites me. Fifty feels like a badge of honor, a cool milestone that isn’t about clinging to youth but about stepping into who I truly am.
Losing Myself in the Noise
But here’s the thing—somewhere along the way, I lost parts of myself. Maybe you can relate. I spent so many years pouring my energy into others—family, friends, work—without really asking for much, if anything, in return. It’s supposed to be this admirable thing, right? To give selflessly? And in many ways, it is. But no one tells you the quiet cost of always putting yourself last.
You can lose touch with the person you are when no one’s asking for a favor or needing your support. You forget what makes your heart beat faster or your soul feel full. Your dreams take a back seat to someone else’s. And for those of us with a deep well of empathy, it’s even harder to define where you end and where others begin. Suddenly, their hopes and desires seem like yours. Their beliefs start to sound like your own. It sneaks up on you, and one day you realize, when someone asks, “What do you want?”—your answer doesn’t sound quite like you anymore.
Choosing Myself
This realization hit me in the weeks leading up to my 50th birthday. It wasn’t this dramatic epiphany, more like a chorus of whispers finally making themselves heard. And you know what? I’m ready to listen. I’m letting those voices guide me as I move into this next chapter.
I know it won’t always be easy. Change rarely is, even for those of us who thrive on some level of chaos. But this kind of change feels different. It feels like an unwrapping of something that was always there but got buried under the weight of life’s demands.
I’m excited—deeply, wildly excited—to get to know this new-old version of me. The “me” I’ve always been, beneath the expectations, responsibilities, and roles I’ve taken on. This time around, I’m showing up for myself first.
Finding Freedom
It feels a little rebellious, honestly. To unapologetically decide that my life, my needs, my joys are worth discovering. It’s a choice to live without restrictions, without having to work around or fit myself into someone else’s narrative. And that’s where the song Wild Child by Kenny Chesney comes in.
If you haven’t heard it, take a minute. Listen to the words. It’s about someone with an untamed spirit—someone who’s unapologetically themselves, marching to the beat of their own drum. To me, it’s the perfect anthem for this moment in my life. It captures the freedom I’m chasing and the independence I’m claiming.
Because that’s what this feels like—an opportunity to be unapologetically, beautifully me. And not just for this chapter, but for every chapter to come.
What About You?
If any of this resonates with you, I’d love to know. Have you found yourself in a season of rediscovery? What helped you reconnect with the real you?
Here’s to choosing ourselves, our peace, and our truth. Here’s to finding those quiet parts of us that deserve to be seen. And if it feels a little wild along the way? Even better.
Que Wild Child—turn it up, and don’t look back.
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