What principles define how you live?

Daily writing prompt

What’s a topic or issue about which you’ve changed your mind?

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For me, the principles that define how I live were shaped by both pain and resilience. After my accident, I realized life is too fragile to live on autopilot. So I try to live by three guiding truths:

First, authenticity. I refuse to wear masks anymore. I want to show up as I am—flawed, growing, still learning—because that’s where real connection lives.

Second, trust. Trusting myself, trusting others carefully, and trusting God with what I can’t control. I’ve learned that trust isn’t about certainty, but about walking forward even when I don’t have all the answers.

And third, hope. Not the loud, shiny kind, but the quiet, daily choice to keep going, to look for light in ordinary places, and to believe that joy will return even after seasons of loss.

These principles don’t make life perfect, but they anchor me. They remind me that no matter what I’ve been through, I can live in a way that feels true, steady, and open to possibility.