during last years trip to michigan, bella was heard to proclaim, loudly and exuberantly: I LOVE THIS PLACE. WHEN I"M HERE, I'M THE BEST VERSION OF MYSELF! during this year's travels, bella made similar proclamations, even anticipating them beforehand.

if you sat down and spent thirty focused minutes of your life on seriously contemplating what you want more than anything, wouldn't it be to find what, how, where, and when you became the best version of yourself? there was a time i believed what worked for me would work for you and what worked for him would work for me. experience and failure has taught me that our world is not that simplistic, far from it. this means that each person's search for their best is highly personal. someone else's journey can inspire. books can instruct. youtube can motivate. but in practice, you need to carve a new path in the rock. for those lucky enough to turn the corner or crest the hill or open the door or punch through the wall that shows them their pixel of universe that was built just for them, well, their arrival is our example that it can be done, that it is possible.

it warmed me to hear bella recognize a place where she shined, mostly because it told me she was looking, she was aware. i believe helping young people find the power of introspection and curiosity and not-settling is the ever-relevant role of our older generation(s).

and this image, well, yes, it is yet another Aleo original.