I didn’t feel brave when I started out. I felt like I’d stepped off the map and wasn’t sure the ground would still be there. I wondered what people would think—if they’d see freedom or failure, courage or homelessness dressed up in nicer words. Fear showed up sounding like logic, asking all the hard questions. But beneath it was a quieter voice asking, What if you can? And that was the moment I chose my road—scared, willing, and alive.