(Edited 11/28/2023)

So that meeting I talked about last time? I said there were multiple points that paralleled with my MH journey, and while I led with one that impacted me the most, that doesn’t deflate the other one I’ll cover here.

This also happened later in the meeting with so much info shared about homeownership. I mentioned how scary the entire thing was to get into, and my friend the rep said to not think of it as scary, but unknown.

It’s true in both realms. I’ve imagined having an apartment for so long that I saw homeownership as a far-off, even impossible feat to manage because of realistic, and anxiety-inspired circumstances.

On the MH side, I often had myself to lean on in the darkest times, unaware of what I’d experience, or even had the courage to feel in this new view of my world, and anyone still in it.

I see both sides as being connected to each other in unique ways. It took years of MH education and healing to get me to believe that it was worth exploring the homebuying opportunity. I also had to believe that it was worth the time to educate myself on what options are out there for me.

This can apply to other areas of life that are unknown to us, yet tied to what we want for ourselves for our future.

It even reminds of me of a moment from a game, where a son is telling his father that he’ll be leaving on his own. The father asks if he was scared. The son nodded, and the father assured him that’s why he must pursue his goal.

It all ties into how the unknown isn’t meant to be feared if you view it more as a time to educate and apply what you’ve learned into action. There are plenty of things that are unknown to me, along with things that I need refreshers on.

But even if I forget this rephrasing of the emotion in any moment, fears are meant to be conquered. The unknown asks only to be understood in order to make informed decisions on what is right for you.

D.F.