Being the youngest of a family with a nurturing mother who works in insurance (so she worries about everything) and a father and older sister who took it upon themselves to plan and take care of everything, I slipped into the role as the “baby” of the family. Not that I was a spoiled brat or couldn’t do anything for myself, but most things were done for me by the people who loved taking care of things. Looking back, I am incredibly grateful for my family and the way they always took such diligent care of me; but, combined with my introverted-ness, I can see now how I missed opportunities to cultivate my own sense of independence and my own voice.

Every time I get an email or a phone call telling us "no" or explaining that something else went wrong, I can't help but think to myself: "Why am I doing this? Why am I putting myself through this? I can literally just stop all this right now. I can stop spending this money and relieve myself of this stress." But then I think of how far we've come; how much we've accomplished in less than a year; and the possibilities of what we can—will—achieve if we keep going.