Hi my sweet friends,

If you've ever driven a car in India, I salute you...

After being stranded in the middle of a road, surrounded by cows during my first driving lesson, I decided to continue my lessons in London (I was hoping for fewer obstacles... quite literally)

I kept my lessons a secret. I had always been a sensitive person, and I couldn't keep hearing "if Affie can get a license, then anyone can" or "I'd only get in the car with Affie if I had a death wish" from someone in my close circle

But I've also always been a hard worker; I make things happen. So I worked at it, practiced plenty, and gave it my all during my driving exam

But here's the best part that really opened my eyes - when I passed my exam, they didn't congratulate me. They said "Getting your license doesn't mean you can drive; it just means you're allowed to learn on motorways"

I needed that slap in the face

It made me ask myself something that has served me so well until today:
Does their opinion really have to matter? Because I'd entirely ignored it when I was going through the journey and putting in the hard work to get my license. The journeys are arguably more important thant the successes. After all, our journeys lead to learnings... and that is how we succeed in our other goals. If anything, we need someone to trust in our journeys, guide us on them even, with helpful opinions...regardless of whether we end up succeeding or not. So if there are people in your life who you don't feel comfortable to share your journeys with, then does their opinion matter when it comes to your success?

Because now that I had reached a success, had anything changed? Did I really trust or even need their opinion at this point?

I didn't.... and I don't

That night, I celebrated my achievement with a glass of champagne I lifted to the sky...

"Cheers! I'm proud of you" I said. I was filled with the most freedom I'd had in a while, and it felt great

Tell me in the comments if you felt free the last time you let go of someone else's opinion

Love,
Affie