I Built a Life I Don’t Need a Vacation From

There was a time when I lived for the escape. Vacations were survival mode dressed up in cute outfits—short bursts of freedom between long stretches of burnout. I chased success the way we’re taught to. Hustled to look the part. Worked to prove something. To feel worthy. To seem rich, even if it cost me peace.

Now, I wake up when my body’s ready. I make coffee in my floating kitchen, sometimes still in my underwear. I answer client messages with my feet up in the cockpit, a salty breeze on my skin and the ocean sparkling like it’s in on the secret.

This isn’t a getaway. This is my everyday.

And still, there are moments I feel like I’m cheating at life. Like somehow this kind of freedom must come with strings or a deadline. That imposter voice creeps in, whispering, You didn’t earn this. This is too good. Why you, and not them?

It took time to convince myself. I am allowed to choose differently and expect a different result. For years throughout the process, I felt like I didn’t deserve this life. But I remind myself daily that the choices I’ve made are mine alone. And I made them with courage. With clarity. With heart.

I am worthy. I shouldn’t feel guilty for being here just because others aren’t. That guilt doesn’t help anyone. All I can do is live by example. Show what’s possible. And maybe, just maybe, inspire someone else to step into their own version of freedom too.

I’ll never forget something a college teacher told me on a field trip. We were on a bus, headed to tour a major communications company. I asked, “Why do some people just want to be a manager here, and others become the owner?” He paused, looked at me, and said:

“Because everyone’s definition of success is different.”

That stuck with me forever. That was the moment I realized I get to define mine. I don’t have to chase someone else’s version of “making it.” I am in charge of what that looks like.

For me, success looks like time. Peace. Creating work I care about, with people I genuinely want to help. It looks like living by the ocean, choosing when I work, and building a life I don’t need to recover from.

Family used to feel like something I didn’t get to have. But I’ve learned that family doesn’t have to share your blood. It’s the people you collect along the way. The ones who show up. Who get you. Who care with their whole hearts. That’s the kind of love I’ve found, and the kind I give back.

And home? I used to think I’d never feel safe enough to have one. Now I make home wherever I go. I love movement. I love change. I love the feeling of dropping anchor somewhere new and building little moments of beauty and safety right there.

Of course I still have hard days. Growth doesn’t erase pain. But I no longer need to run from my life.

I built something that feels good to live in.

And here’s the truth. Every tiny decision you make shapes your version of success. Even the small, quiet ones. The ones no one sees. You just have to listen to what your soul is really craving and be brave enough to follow it.

Because the life you want isn’t a fantasy. It’s a path. And it starts the moment you decide to stop chasing someone else’s dream and build your own.

Writing the map as I go,

Your girl, Chanty

“Life won’t hand you permission. You’ve got to claim it.”