Age, 29
Based in Sydney, Australia
Marketer, Writer, Memoirist, Charity Volunteer

We all have some memories we wish we had. Mine is that I’ve never known what it’s like to have a simple dinner with Dad and Mum at the same table. Divorce for my parents was necessary. Sometimes the sanest thing that a couple can do is to honour each other’s freedom to move on. It took me a while to really understand that. Until I did, I received dismal marks in my high school exams. I had my heart broken (more than once). I lost money to lost loves. Some of those I knew took drugs, alcohol and were greedy to the point that made me feel uncomfortable. We never should have to put up with that. It’s easy to blame others for making life miserable, right? Well in this string of unfortunate circumstances, there was, and is, one common denominator – myself.

I put myself into these situations because I kept repeating the story that I'm not good enough to keep my parents together. My wakeup call came from asking, ‘Why do I choose to live by my interpretation of what happened in the past?’ There were two paths for me: one – keep spiralling down as a miserable victim and watch life pass me by, or two – no longer use the past to define my identity, but look to the future and create who I can be. I chose the latter. That's when I started realising that I don't need to be rescued by another person or wait for a miracle. In fact, the only person or miracle to arrive is the Awakened Me.

Crises really can be opportunities in disguise. I grew up with a working class mother who really aspired that I shine for a better life. In a matter of time, I claimed the executive seats in renowned companies with the salaries to match. In striving so hard for this, in some way I got too caught up in it all. Apparently it's a common corporate disease that is often referred to as 'affluent-za!' I was becoming someone who was introduced merely by a fancy title on my business card or known for the car I drove. That may be what some people aspire to be, do and have, but I felt it's also a very one dimensional kind of happiness. Until recently, I began to understand that life isn't just about what we achieve. It's also accepting who we really are and how we make others feel.