Tonight, That Is Enough

As I sit here on the eve of my departure from Ohio, I find myself overwhelmed with gratitude.

That seems to be a theme since the accident.

Since having my life ripped away from me, I’ve found myself standing in gratitude more often than not. Even after yesterday-the misgendering, the frustration, the anger that led to a pretty negative blog, I can say this without hesitation: This experience was good.

Overwhelmingly good.

Yeah, a lot of the leadership material wasn’t new to me. I’ve learned most of those lessons the hard way, through trial, error, and time. But even so, I still picked up a few things. A few small ways to be just a little bit better.

And that’s not nothing.

But more than that, I met people.

Amazing people.

People I connected with in a way that feels… real. And now, sitting here, I can feel it. I’m going to miss them. My heart actually aches a little at the thought of leaving, even though our time together was so short.

And that’s kind of incredible. That bonds can form that quickly. That under the right conditions, people can show up, open up, and connect in a matter of days.

It says something about us.

About how deeply we want connection. About how ready we are for it, when it’s real.

I find myself smiling at that.

For years, I was overlooked.

But not now.

And maybe, just maybe, that timing wasn’t an accident. Maybe I wasn’t supposed to be here before. Maybe I was supposed to be here now, with these exact people, at this exact moment.

For what purpose? I don’t know.

And for the first time in my life, I’m starting to be okay with that.

I’m learning, slowly, to stop questioning the universe every time it shifts my path. To trust that when something moves, when something changes, when something feels right… There’s a reason. Even if I can’t see it yet.

There’s something else I’ve been feeling since all of this started.

Since the first time I died, almost four years ago, there’s been this fire in me. This need to create impact. To matter. To leave something behind that ripples outward in a way I may never fully see.

And sitting here tonight, I can’t help but wonder… Maybe I’m seeing that in real time. Maybe this wasn’t just about what I got from this experience. Maybe it was a give and take. Maybe I influenced the people around me as much as they influenced me. And if that’s true, if even a handful of those conversations mattered, then what does that become?

Ten people? Ten people who carry something forward? And if each of them impacts fifty more over the course of their lives… that’s five hundred people touched by something that started in a room I almost didn’t walk into. That’s not nothing.

Maybe that’s the journey. Maybe that’s the way.

As negative as I felt yesterday, I’m leaving here tonight with a full heart and a quiet kind of certainty: This mattered.

I don’t know why. But I know that it did.

And tonight… that’s enough.