Have you ever felt like you’re living two lives at once? The one the world sees, measured in responsibilities and expectations, and the one that pulses quietly beneath the surface, longing for something more? I have felt this deeply—this tug-of-war between who I must be and who I dream of being. And so, I wrote this… a quiet confession, a whispered truth.

She is a responsible woman who walks a straight line, shouldering all the burdens that she has been chosen to carry.

She dreams of being wild and free, throwing caution to the wind so she can soar within life’s currents.

She dresses conservatively, her wardrobe chosen carefully each day based on the role she must play. 

She dreams of walking barefoot upon the earth in her long flowing dress, softly dancing through her days. 

She creates endless lists, checking off as many as she can each day, measuring productivity with each item she can check off. 

She yearns to create beauty – with her pen, her camera, a paintbrush, and even with her body as she moves through this life.

When speaking with others, she listens carefully – especially to all of the things they cannot say. Then she crafts her replies with the greatest thought and consideration, careful not to go to deep, to stay on the surface where so many prefer to reside.

She wishes she could reach out and comfort all that they cannot say, finding and crossing the bridge that keeps us separated, meeting face to face and heart to heart – taking a step or two together instead of being so far apart.

She lives within these four walls, only to travel daily to another set of four walls where she can earn money to pay for these same four walls.

She dreams of being outside beneath the ever changing sky, breathing the ever changing life, where the clouds, the moon, and the night sky embrace her with freedom and joy.

She has a schedule and a routine that allows her to get through one day at a time, a structure to life that holds it all wrapped up tight.

She dreams of days where she can pick up and go, letting her heart guide her way with only her spirit’s bright light. 

She is a well behaved adult now passing middle age, moving slower with each passing year.

Yet deep within her heart is still young, yearning to dance beneath the ever present moon.

Despite her advancing age, she is still a child who searches, trying to find the answers to both herself and the world.

She dreams of the wisdom that she hopes someday her years will earn. 

Maybe we all carry this quiet longing—the tension between who we are and who we dream of being. Maybe within this shared ache, there is comfort, a reminder that none of us are truly alone in our searching. If you, too, have felt this pull, this whisper of something more, know that I see you. And perhaps, in the knowing, we are already a little less alone.

How do you navigate the pull between responsibility and freedom?