THE LETTER
I’d like to tell you a story.
A little out of place for a policy blog it might seem, but there’s a common thread binding every travel tale I live to tell…all of which yes, focus on policy.
I’m bias, but it’s a worthy story to tell…especially to sister-whomever is reading my story and wondering how it’s been pulled off.
I’m four weeks away from hitting 30 countries by the age of 30.
30 countries traveled.
30 countries whose policies I have studied.
30 places I have learned the meaning of loving people and living curiously and cultivating an appreciation for a world so much bigger than myself.
30 countries that have added a few good inches to my waistline.
I’d never left my own country before the day I moved out of it.
Given where I started, long before I began writing and then again from the tarmac in Baltimore the day I moved away, this new benchmark of travel, I giggle at it now.
It’s my own little dark irony that I share with you today.
I started dating my husband when I was 21, and we were married 2 years later.
It’s crazy to think now that I considered denying the love of my life, purely out of fear.
I was so terrified that love would hold me back.
Make me smaller.
Somehow chain me to a life with greater limitations and few opportunities because I had to consider the needs of someone outside of myself, in a life I had no idea how to navigate. I worried marriage would somehow limit my personal growth because, let’s face it, sometimes too much comfort can stunt us. I thought marriage meant settling, and I wasn’t ready to “settle down.” It’s ironic because my life since the wedding hasn’t had a single moment of ‘chill.’
This is the modern message circulating the topic of marriage.
The reason this narrative exists isn’t entirely without reason…it’s just not the full story of what love can look like.
It’s so evident that God and my husband are in cahoots together.
If there’s any testament to what love can look like, my story is the one to tell.
A story where love made me better.
And freer.
And smarter.
And confident.
And more capable of creating more of it.
God gave me the partner, whose actions are one never-ending love letter.
My partner helped to rewrite the content of my life; if that ain’t love, I don’t know what is.
The rest – it’s just me merely writing it down.
A story told only because I chose love over fear; and picked someone who loved me back in such a way my fears never stood a chance.
I think this is what modern love can (and should) be.
For your sake, I hope you find it. With your God. With your partner. In your friendships. With yourself.
If it’s not, I hope you have the courage to go out and find it.
I hope you find love that makes you better – by my account, that’s the only true kind.
Your Partner in Policy,
Taylor Patrice
UP NEXT
I am still unpacking from the last few weeks of travel and company, which has been amazing. In the midst of this, I am working a new travel blog and editing a multi-episode podcast on the relationship between policy and the economy. In this multi-episode project, I bring a Doctor of Economics (and personal friend) on to answer reader/ listener questions like: Are Biden’s policies making life more expensive for Americans? Will the Ukraine crisis affect the frequency the Fed raises interest rates in 2022? How exactly does the economy affect policy?
See you in all the places listed in the Social Circle section below.
SOCIAL CIRCLE
Blog and Podcast: https://policyoutloud.com
FB / IG / TWITTER / PINTEREST: @policyoutloud
See you soon! Thanks in advance for leaving positive ratings and reviews on the podcast channels and Facebook page if you love the content - it helps me grow because, well, algorithms…
Your Partner in Policy,
I am so glad that I was able to attend that beautiful wedding ...and witness the beginning of your love story! Yes ... marriage can be scary ... but marriage with real LOVE is magic. You got the magic kiddo! ❤️ Big hugs ...and lots of love coming your way today as you re-enter life after vacation.