On becoming, not the best, but the truest version of myself

When I started me first weekly newsletter, The Strangers Almanac, I had envisioned creating a community of people that created meaningful connections through the power of storytelling. I saw The Strangers Almanac as a medium for people to share their struggles and adversities with other like-minded individuals who might be facing a similar situation, hoping to inspire them and show others that, no matter how dark the night is, the sun always rises. However, the support I received in only the first week of launching this newsletter was not something I could have predicted in my wildest dreams with over 100 people subscribing, and dozens of people who want to have their voices and the echoes of their struggles heard by those who need it the most. For those who decided to step up and share your stories, thank you for believing in this and I will honour your stories at the best of my abilities, but I found it hypocritical to ask you to share your stories when I am yet to share mine. So here it goes…

I grew up in Cancun, Mexico. A small piece of paradise on Earth that I will always treasure in my heart. But it was not always great. Growing up in such a small city, people would sometimes know you not by who you were, but by who you were with. I was okay with this idea because it was the only idea I ever knew. Yet, as time went by, I started realizing that the person that I was and the person I wanted to be, were two completely different people and that drove me crazy. There were aspects of myself that I wanted to explore, but I felt that I was bound by the idea of who I was according to the people I grew up in. I was the friend that got all the good grades, average at sports, and was that nice friend in parties that did not drink. I learned that I was a compilation of ideas from everyone but myself, and that scared me. Therefore, at 16, I decided that I wanted to give myself a chance and moved out to Canada by myself to finish high school. I left back my friends who I considered family, a sport I dedicated thousands of hours of training to, and a relationship that shaped me to the person I am today, all for taking a gamble on myself. And boy did it pay off.
In Canada, I got a clean start. I could really allow myself to stop thinking of who I wanted to be and actually be that person. I made some of the most meaningful connections in my life during this period and I achieved things I never thought possible, from little things like talking to strangers in a completely different environment, to graduating valedictorian of my class alongside people I consider family. Of course, I can’t say it came easy. Walking away from your comfort zone implies walking a path, blindfolded, 10,000 meters above the ground with no guarantee of where you will end up. It comes with difficult moments where you will definitely doubt whether you made the right decision and maybe try to walk back. It involves sacrificing who you are, at the reward of who you get to be after you take the first step.

However, I would argue that all those hard moments are what made all of the great moments feel even better. That first step of moving out at 16 lead me to a path where I extended my family across the world, camped at -36 degrees in Canadian winter, went to the UN as a delegate of my high school in an international conference, got accepted into one of Canada’s best Business Schools, lived in Bali for 2 months, created my first startup and this project, and countless memories that I would have not attained if I had not taken that first step.

Finally, If while reading this, you could picture what taking that first step for yourself looks like and you are still hesitant to do so, I want to leave you with 3 lessons I have learned from my journey:
There is nothing worse than a “What-if”. It is better to regret something you did than something you did not
Give yourself a chance. You will never know what you are really capable of until you allow yourself to go beyond the preconceived idea of who you think you are No matter how dark it is, the sun always rises. Enjoy those rainy moments in your life and embrace them, they do not define who you are but they are a part of yourself that will teach you valuable things

That’s it. That is a small part of my story that I wanted to share with you, hoping that if you are in a situation where you are facing a new path and are hesitant to take that first step, you might be encouraged to take it and never look back. Thank you for making it all the way to the end of this post. If you believe in what we are trying to create please feel free to check my email newsletter The Strangers Almanac, a totally free to use platform for people to connect and inspire each other! https://strangersalmanac.substack.com/welcome
Cheers,
Juan