When I tell you to follow your heart, I'm not telling you it's going to be easy. I'm not saying that you won't sometimes hate it—that you won't think about turning back nearly every day. When I tell you to follow your heart, I'm not saying you're going to love every outcome, or that the things that happen today will make sense to you right now. I'm not telling you that there won't be detours and dead ends. That you won't get tired. That you won't sometimes wonder if this was all a mistake. Too often, we think following our heart means that the path is going to be paved in the golden light of clarity and peace. But this is rarely true. The path that your heart guides you on can be bumpy and fragmented. Each new step may always carry a lingering aura of uncertainty. It may require deep breaths and more trust than what's comfortable. But in the end, it will be worth it. Because it will be beautiful, and it will be real, and it will be the greatest gift you can ever give yourself. It will be harder than you can imagine but better than you ever dreamed. And it will be yours. Your life. Your story. Your journey. Yours. So when I tell you to follow your heart, I'm not telling you it's going to be easy. But what I'm saying is— you owe it to yourself to see where it might lead.