Chronicles of a Contradiction - The Origin Story

Well, first off—thank you for clicking on this. It means a lot. Before I start actually writing to you guys, I figured you should probably know who I am… or at least who I think I am.

I’m 20 years old, a student, and someone with big dreams. What I want this space to be is essentially my thought organizer—so expect no real format, no structure. I’ll go off on tangents, get philosophical, and probably not make sense sometimes. But that’s alright, because at the end of the day, this is about me being me.

And if there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I’ve always had big dreams. Like most kids, I wanted to be everything—firefighter, superhero, maybe even a character in a Christopher Nolan movie. I’ve always been the type to really resonate with characters in the media I consume. I love love love movies, books, and TV, and for a long time, I lived vicariously through the stories they told.

Lately, though, I’ve been drawn back to the things I loved as a kid. Not in some deep, intentional way—more like an instinctive pull. One day, I just thought, I should read a Magic Tree House book again—so I did. And it was great, by the way. But that instinct made me realize something:

• The way you played, the things you were obsessed with, and the environment you grew up in all shaped who you are today.

• Success (in whatever form) is often about reconnecting with those early instincts, rather than "figuring it out" from scratch.

• Society conditions us to move away from our childhood selves, but those who embrace it tend to find fulfillment and purpose.

And somewhere along this process, I kind of… figured out my purpose. Or at least, I started to piece it together. Growing up, I was never the kid with one defining passion—I played five sports until 5th grade, excelled in every subject, and never really had just one friend group. I was a floater. But looking back, I realize my passion has always been learning, exploring, and discovering.

A lot of this comes from how I was raised. My parents—my dad’s an emergency psychiatrist, my mom’s a physical therapist—were very hands-off in the most loving way possible. They never sat me down to teach me things unless I asked. And because of that, I learned how to figure things out on my own. That independence shaped me.

I think one of the most important questions you can ask yourself is: Who were you before the world told you who to be? Because I truly believe people drift away from what they’re innately drawn to—what they’re naturally good at—because of social pressure or some other BS about "growing up."

So yeah, I know I’ve gone on for a bit. But what I’m really trying to say is—I still don’t totally know who I am. But I know who I was. And I think that’s enough to start with.

Let me take you on my Creative Odyssey. Maybe along the way, we’ll all figure out how to fulfill ourselves—and maybe even the world.

Stay tuned.