This is my response for Day 1 of the Wide Open eCourse. The subject: Lost. You can follow the body of work for this class with #wideopencourse on Instagram.

For many years, I’ve avoided going back to my college campus. Just thinking about that time in my life fills me with feelings of loss and regret… primarily because of story I’ve been telling myself… that it was then that I lost my way, when I started choosing “shoulds.” When I read the prompt for day 1, this was what came to me right away.

But I had a last minute opportunity to stroll through the old stomping grounds this last weekend and was able to show my daughter where I spent a significant four years. I realized that my story was incomplete. Yes, I did lose myself there in many ways. But the other part of the story is that I CHOSE to be there. And the me that made that choice was REAL. And the reasons I chose to be there were TRUE… AND are just as real and true today as they were 25 years ago. I would make the same choice again. #wideopencourse #lost