Not your average Google review

Not testimonials. Testaments.

This page isn’t about bragging rights or borrowed praise. It’s a snapshot of a moment that reminded me why I do what I do. 

When I entered a contest to win a sailboat, I didn’t expect to walk away with so much love. I didn’t win the boat, but I received something way more powerful, reflections from people who saw me, believed in me, and took the time to say so. These messages are a reminders. That my story matters. That I’m not alone. That what I’ve built from the messy, beautiful pieces of my life is already making waves. This is a thank you, a celebration, and a place to anchor this memory. 

After arriving in Isla Mujeres, I found myself in a bit of a standstill. I was settling into this new place, trying to figure out my next move. The wind had paused, literally and metaphorically. I wasn’t sure what direction I was heading next.

Then this video started popping up in my inbox. Friends and people who’ve followed my journey sent it to me, saying, “Chanty, you have to enter this.”  Maybe they saw something I hadn’t fully admitted to myself. That I need my own boat again. Not just want, but need. I've owned three boats before, and worked on plenty of others, but at that moment I was without one. And I think I’d been trying to live without that part of myself for too long.

So I entered. Not just to win, but because it lit up something I’d been pushing down. It reconnected me with a dream that’s been mine all along.

And no, I didn’t win the boat. But what I did receive was unexpected and powerful. The support, the love, the way people showed up and shared how my story has impacted them. That filled me in a way no material prize ever could. This wasn’t just about entering a contest. 

It was about coming back to my truth.