We live in a society that by default discredits youth based on their age, which simultaneously discredits their ability to do big things. I’m sharing this with you because it wasn’t until recently that I started considering my age, my superpower. As an ambitious youngster I read books and wrote plays that my sister and I would later perform for our folks. With time, these plays became poetry, and this poetry something I wanted to publish, but who would publish the literature of a ten year old? Unfortunately, no one. From the early days on, my life’s journey turned into the lessons I would later learn taking the road less traveled. 

I moved to New York and started college when I was sixteen to pursue my ventures in the arts. Using the vehicle of my art, I found myself mostly interested in nature and movement. Later on, my appreciation for dance reconfigured itself into a love for yoga. I didn’t grow up with any particular religion, but as my yoga practice deepened I found a new interest in spirituality, consciousness and God. To this day, I would much rather deep dive into The Science of Being and Art of Living by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi or The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran than go to a party…but that’s really just my intellectual way of saying I have social anxiety and would prefer to do literally anything else than go to a party. 

Currently, I run my own business called Dirtbag Yoga, teach a credit course on Yoga at UCSB, and am in the midst of writing a novel which I currently hate but am hoping to love, eventually. Working a 9 to 5 office job is perhaps my biggest fear, so finding ways to make money as an artist and teacher of ethereal-hoo-ha is usually pretty hilarious. Catch me cleaning out your shed or de-cobwebbing the corners of your house (two jobs I have actually done for money). But my point is, it’s okay to be doing the shit no one’s doing, and it’s okay to fu*king love it. 

Our society has a way of determining a person's value based on their income, number of degrees, material possessions or in this day in age, instagram followers. Most of my life I have felt devalued for doing my own thing, especially as a young person. However, it is my belief that our vulnerabilities are what highlight our value, and that it is our duty to be courageous enough to share the things we would live and die for with the people around us.

But with the short amount of time I have lived on this earth, I can confidently say that those who discredit a person who wants to make a difference in the world, are the ones who haven’t dared to dream so fearlessly. You are capable of doing really big things, and I encourage you to nurture anything that makes your heart skip. Also, thank the people in your life who make you feel understood, they are perhaps some of the most intimate companions who will illuminate your strengths as well as your weaknesses; there’s beauty in both by the way. From one untamed youth to the next, I am in your corner & I am cheering you on!