In this episode, I’m peeling back the layers of what I call my "survival years"—that pivotal period of my early twenties that was defined more by what I didn’t do than what I did. After a low-key weekend sparked a reflection on why I feel so much guilt when I'm not being "productive," I realized I needed to go back to where that pressure started. I’m sharing the high cost of choosing safety over curiosity and how I built a life that looked successful on paper but felt like a cage.

I used my wiggle room and extra credits to pile on double minors, not because I was following a passion, but because I was filling my schedule to avoid the distraction of having fun or questioning my path. I finally wrap up with the moment the light broke through during a dance class I had to take. It was the first time I was allowed to make light-hearted mistakes instead of life-altering ones, and it started to move me out of my head and back into my body.