I wanted to prove that I was capable of taking care of myself. More than anything, I wanted to never have to put up with a controlling workplace, father, or partner, out of financial dependence. I began to think of success not as a job title, wealth, prestige, or social network but as the ability to be myself in the world. To know that, as a woman who had been taught that I needed to serve a man to be complete, I could instead build a life for myself that I loved, and that I could sustain that life by myself. I hoped that, maybe if you saw me live this way, you might choose to come back to me.
