I am 37 years old, and for most of my life, I had no idea where I was headed. Even now, I don’t feel like I’m standing on solid ground but something has changed. For years, I lived in a dark tunnel of uncertainty. There was no shining light, no beacon guiding me to where I wanted to be. But in these last couple of weeks, I’ve started to see a small speck of light breaking through that darkness.

For many years people told me my writing was good, that I had a great imagination. Recently, I took a writing class, and both my instructor and my peers said the same thing. Normally, the dark side of me would have jumped in, telling me I’m a failure, that I’m worthless, that I should give up and stay miserable. But lately, I’ve been fighting that voice and for the first time in a very long time, I’m winning. I feel more confident. I’m trying to inject writing into my daily life so I can sharpen my craft.

I think my mindset is changing. Whenever I used to say, “I want to be a writer,” that dark side of me would fire back with, “But will it make you money?” or “How will you live on your own with your shitty writing?” Now? I don’t care whether it makes me money or not. Letting that worry go has given me peace. I’m writing for me. I want to create worlds I can get lost in. Because even though I’m a boring person in real life, inside my head there’s drama, mystery, and wonder.

When the time is right, I want to show those worlds to others, and hopefully people will enjoy them. If they don’t, I won’t be bitter. In my eyes, I’ll still have achieved what I always wanted to write books and build worlds. For the last ten years, I’ve been searching for my purpose in life. Now I realize my purpose is to tell stories and live through the characters I create.

Over the next decade, I plan to bring stories to life inside my own universe. I call it The Purpose-verse because I’ve always struggled to find my own purpose. The characters in my stories will discover or reveal their purpose through the worlds they inhabit. There are so many themes to explore through that lens.

So keep an eye out for the stories that will emerge from this universe.

What is your purpose?