I was one of those kids in high school that actually knew what I wanted for my future. I set my sights on that goal and followed that path. I didn't pretend to be something I wasn't, and I'll be honest, it was a little lonely. I didn't really have a group. I flitted between most (not all) of them and could count my close friends on one hand. I rarely got invited to parties, and my dating life was pretty much non-existent. But I knew who I was and it was enough. I found my people when I went to college, and for the first time I felt like I was accepted for who I was. Then I graduated and got a job, and that path I'd always been following took a huge detour through some pretty dense woods, and I got lost. But eventually, I stumbled back onto that path I'd started so many years ago and rediscovered all the things I'd forgotten about myself.

Losing yourself isn't easy. Finding yourself in the aftermath isn't easy. But you owe it to yourself to make the effort.

Happy Monday.