Walking through an old neighborhood recently I paused opposite the house where my college boyfriend lived. Staring at that southern front porch I smiled at the countless hours we spent sitting there, him playing his guitar while we laughed and dreamed up our futures.

That version of my future never happened.

And I’m so grateful it didn’t.

Don’t misunderstand me; I’ve had my (countless) episodes of frustration, anger, resentment, fear, and general not knowing when it comes to the way certain events have unfolded in my life. I’ve certainly been on the side of believing something different was somehow supposed to happen when things didn’t go the way I imagined and/or planned for them to go.

Until I didn’t feel that way.

What if I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be because it’s right where I am?

What if what I envisioned for my ideal future wouldn’t have been so ideal?

What if I’m happier now than I ever could have possibly imagined at a different time in my life?

And what if instead of being a victim when life turns things upside down I turn them around and own all of it, and ask myself how I can be empowered by the not knowing?

That’s a future I can smile about.