An Adventurous Life

An Adventurous Life

I don't know what I'm doing

And how I'm navigating uncertainty

Julia Atkinson's avatar
Julia Atkinson
Jun 02, 2025
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Hello!

Thank you for paying to support my writing.

In exchange, I’ll tell you a secret.

I don’t know what I’m doing.

Potato Chip on Mt Woodson, view from my Wednesday morning hike

It’s my third Monday free of corporate life. I still reach for my work computer like it’s a phantom limb. Last night I checked my calendar to see what meetings I had coming up this week.

I’m used to defined paths. Hard paths, yes. But paths where I understood what success meant. Valedictorian. Yale. Get a job in New York. Join the Peace Corps. Graduate with a master’s degree from a top-rated foreign policy program by 30. Work in DC. Become a director.

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