Does your life belong to you?
Born and raised in Eastern Europe and living my life in Western Europe, it always astounded me how differently the same question lands in different places: does your life belong to you?
In one world, the answer is drowned out by obligation — family expectations, the diploma you were supposed to get, the career that was chosen for you before you could choose. In the other, the answer is drowned out by options — so many possible lives that committing to one feels like a loss.
A new year is the traditional moment for resolutions, but resolutions are cheap. Ownership is expensive. Owning your life means accepting that every “yes” you give away — to a job, a habit, a relationship, a fear — was signed by you, even when it did not feel like a choice.
My wish for you this year is not success. It is authorship. Twelve months from now, may the year that passed read like something you wrote — not something that happened to you.