I’m finally holding on to letting go. 

What is the power of letting go? Well, when you have to find your own power, when you feel powerless, you learn how strong you really are.

About a month ago, I did something crazy. I got on a plane and went halfway across the United States without telling my friends or family.

It was the scariest thing I have ever done. When the plane took off, I had so many thoughts. I couldn’t hold back tears.

I met a lovely old couple who had a skittish chihuahua. The cute puppy slept in a crate under the seat.

The woman, whose name I can’t remember, told me the love story of her and her husband, Rodger. 

Rodger was in the military when he met his future wife. Intrigued by the prospectus of writing to someone military, his wife stole a letter that Rodger had written to a friend and began writing him. He eventually cut off all contact with anyone besides his future wife, and the two of them began a long-distance romance before cell phones were even dreamed of. 

The couple let me pray with them and hugged me before we parted ways.

I wonder how life has treated them since our paths crossed. 

Many hours had passed. I hopped on a plane to Houston. Thanks to a bottle of Diet Pepsi, I was awake, and all the passengers insight were asleep. 

I could see the city lights. I felt a dragon taking flight over a city. It was beautiful. Seeing those lights was the first storybook moment in my life.

My inner child imagined a trip in Mr. Weasley’s flying car—my heart was full of joy. 

My next stop was New Mexico, and my life was about to change; for better or worse. 

Almost exactly a year before, I met someone online. The two of us talked every day, and our relationship grew. We connected in ways that neither of us had experienced anything like it before.

I knew I was loved, even though we had never met in person. It was the craziest thing we had ever done. 

On my way to baggage claim, I met a nice old black lady who told me a funny story about an airport attendant who she knew from the New Mexico airport who died putting on his work pants. The man in the story died doing what he loved, and she laughed. The odd story was amazing. It felt like this man died happily, and his friend was joyful knowing that.

 At baggage claim, I met Jacob for the first time in real life, and we hugged.