Coming to New Zealand has been the easiest and hardest thing I've ever done. With no income, no housing, no friends, I packed my belongings and flew to Wellington, New Zealand for an unpaid internship to finish my last requirement of Chiropractic school. I gambled on myself and a dream.

My family and friends questioned my actions and intentions. Almost everyone told me it was a terrible idea..and I don't blame them. It's daunting to imagine surviving on your own in a foreign country. I believe there is this beautiful compass that lives inside each of us that guides us towards our destined path. We choose to listen or ignore that "gut feeling." Coming to New Zealand felt so right to me and today I can't imagine living any other way. Wellingtonians are the BEST! Everyone is so helpful and most even smile back, coffee in hand. 😉

I recently went back to the States for my sister's wedding and everyone said, " Oh, you must love it there! Being so independent and having the freedom to travel and work." It made me smile to think about how people perceive others’ lives. If you ask the next person they might say the absolute opposite: “It must be hard for you living so far away from anything, starting a new life from scratch with nothing. You must be so lonely being single and doing it all on your own.”

And the truth is, all the above is true. I feel each and every variation of the above on occasions because I’m human! We are all the same.

But the conversation made me reflect on my own happiness. What does it mean to be happy? I asked myself why, and the only answer I could think of is, right now I feel authentic.

I wake up each morning and my work feels like a joyful adventure, so I don’t have to drag myself through days, questioning the point of what I’m doing.

I have started to understand and accept that my life is up to me—my choices, my creation.

So often we look outward and feel trapped by things that aren’t real. For me it was my past and those pesky little shoulds, from myself and others. Or we think that we’re slaves to the choices we made in the past. But the beauty of life is you always have a choice.

Of course there are some things in life we literally can’t change—maybe you’re a parent or caregiver or have other responsibilities that limit you—but you still have a choice.

You can choose to resist and focus on the negative, the struggle, or you can choose to see differently, create opportunities for change, and ask for help. No matter what your life looks like right now, you can still create a life you love.

Perhaps you’re wondering, how an earth do I go about creating an authentic life? Where do I start? Well, this is obviously vastly different for everyone, but my advice would be to just start somewhere, and what better place than where you are right now?

By that, I mean start by looking within.

A simple daily journal practice and weekly Chiropractic checks have changed my life, and I truly believe it can help anyone.

My daily journal is my person time to reflect and evaluate how I truly feel. Weekly Chiropractic checks allow me to have balanced spine and Nervous System that invest in my life quality. Creating a life you love is really about aligning your body, mind, and life vision with your own core values—those things that are most important to you personally.

The point is to listen to yourself and take action on what you discover. Connect with how you really feel and use that as your guide when making choices so you can create a life you truly love. All that matters is that you’re happy with yourself and the life you’re living.