There are years that ask questions and years that answer.

That quote is from Zora Neale Hurston, one of the most influential writers of the 20th-century Harlem Renaissance. She was an anthropologist, novelist, memoirist, and trailblazer who defied conventions about race and gender.

Hurston’s words ring so true to me.

Haven’t we all experienced years that endlessly pose riddles and fill us with uncertainty about our path, purpose, and identity? And then there are those years that finally start providing some answers, bringing clarity after the fog.

Let me give you a personal example from my own life’s journey.

I experienced one of those “question” years in my late teenage years.

I’d think:

“What am I doing with my life?”

“Where is this all going?”

“Am I becoming the person I want to be?”

As Mary Oliver says, “What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

That quote haunted me. I had no answers, only increasingly loud questions.

After some painful soul-searching, I realised I needed a reboot. So, I moved to another country, ended unhealthy relationships, and adopted more healthy habits. That was the beginning of the “answer” years.