The Roads We Never Chose.

Sometimes, we do things not because we want to, but because we have no other choice.
The road appears, and we take it.
Not out of passion, but because staying still isn’t an option.
Our hands aren’t just tied; they’re full. With responsibilities and expectations. With the weight of being someone others count on.

And in that moment, when choosing feels like a luxury, we adjust.
We tell ourselves, “Just for now.”
And then we keep walking.

It’s not that we lack ambition.https://ctrlaltgrow.com/whatever-you-dont-change-you-choose/
It’s not that we’ve forgotten what we once hoped for.
It’s just that dreaming doesn’t always pay the rent.
And wanting more doesn’t always change what’s on the table.
So we make it work. Not because we’re content, but because we know we have to last long enough to eventually choose for ourselves.

There’s strength that comes from doing what no one claps for.
Waking up, again and again, to a version of life that doesn’t quite fit.
Showing up to jobs that were never part of the plan.
Making decisions with corners in them.
Giving parts of yourself to people and systems and routines that don’t even know your name.
And still, you don’t crumble.
You keep going.

I did not choose the road,
but I kept walking anyway.
The shoes wore thin,
but I stayed in them.
Someday, I’ll step where I want.
Today, I step where I must.

Some people talk about freedom like it’s simple.
“Just follow your passion.”
“Just quit if you hate it.”
“Just start over.”
But not everyone has a net to fall into.
Some people are born with one. Others build it while already falling.
And still, somehow, they land. Not gracefully, maybe. But they land.
And that counts.

We don’t pity ourselves.
There’s no room for that.
We’re not waiting to be rescued.
We’re building slowly, inching forward through the cracks.
Even when our hearts are somewhere else, we keep showing up.
Because survival doesn’t wait for the perfect opportunity.
And responsibility speaks louder than desire.

It’s not about giving up.
It’s about staying in the game long enough to change the rules later.
And in the meantime, we learn.
We learn how to move in spaces that weren’t designed for us.
We learn how to listen to what isn’t said.
We learn how to hold onto a small version of hope, even when it’s tucked away in the back of our minds.

There’s wisdom in this waiting.
In the long middle.
In the patience it takes to walk a road that doesn’t feel like yours, hoping it eventually leads to one that does.

We become part of a bigger system.
One that rarely asks what we want.
So we follow the pace, we meet the expectations, and we keep our heads down.
The system gives us crumbs at first. A little money. A little stability. A little room to breathe.
But it also teaches us to hold out for the day we stop surviving and finally start choosing.

Not every story starts with freedom.
Some begin with limits.
But those limits sharpen us.
They teach us how to bend without breaking.
How to carry what we didn’t ask for.
How to become resilient in ways we never expected.

And maybe, when the day finally comes when we can choose…
We won’t waste it.
Because we’ll remember exactly what it took to get there.

CtrlAltGrow is my passion project to bring to life all the little creativity I have in my head. All my work, the podcast & my blogs, will be part of this library of thoughts.

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