Living in Portugal After Cancer, Exploring Life Abroad at 54!

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Hey, beautiful and welcome back to Culture

Lit, the podcast where black women's

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love stories, wellness journeys, and

cultural brilliance take center stage.

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I'm your host, Octavia Marie, and

if you've been wondering where I've

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been, well, I have a story to tell

you, actually, I have several stories

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to tell you and today's episode.

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It's different.

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It's personal, it's vulnerable,

and honestly, it's one I've been

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both excited and nervous to share.

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Because this isn't just about books

today, though, trust me, the books are

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still very much part of this journey.

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This is about something I've been

living, breathing, and exploring

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over the past several months.

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Something that's been quietly

shifting the way I see my life.

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My future and what it means to

truly romanticize your own story.

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So grab your favorite tea, get

comfortable, and let me take

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you on this journey with me.

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If you've been a longtime listener of

Culture Lit, you know, I've recorded 27

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episodes before the 1 27 conversations

about Black romance novels, about

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joy, about representation, about

the authors who are creating these

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beautiful worlds for us, and then.

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I went quiet, not because I stopped

loving these stories, not because I

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stopped believing in this work, but

because life invited me to live a

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different chapter for a while, a chapter

that required me to step away from the

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microphone and step into something I'd

been dreaming about for nearly a decade.

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Let me back.

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Eight years ago, in 2017, I visited

Portugal for the first time, and

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from the moment I stepped off that

plane, something inside me shifted.

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I can't fully explain it.

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It wasn't just the cobblestone streets

or the pastel dta or the ocean breeze.

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It was something deeper, a

feeling of rightness that I

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hadn't felt in a very long time.

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I remember walking through the winding

streets of Lisbon, looking up at the

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Azule hotels that decorated the buildings,

feeling the warmth of the sun on my

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skin and thinking I could live here.

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I want to explore what it

would be like to live here.

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And from that moment on, I said

it out loud to friends, to family,

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to anyone who would listen.

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I'm going to spend real time in Portugal.

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But you know how life works, right?

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You make plans and then

life has other plans.

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Before I could visit Portugal again,

COVID-19 hit the world, came to a halt.

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Borders closed.

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Dreams were put on pause, and I waited.

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Then just as the world started

opening back up, just as I started

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planning my return trip in 2022, I

received news that changed everything.

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Stage three, colorectal cancer.

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I've shared bits and pieces of

my cancer journey on this podcast

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before, but I haven't fully unpacked

what those three years looked like.

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The surgery, the chemotherapy,

the endless appointments.

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The exhaustion that settles into

your bones, the fear that lives in

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the back of your mind, even when

you're trying to stay positive.

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But more than that, the way it

forced me to confront what I

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was actually living for, because

here's the thing about cancer.

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It strips away all the noise, all the

shoulds and the societal expectations.

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And the timelines you thought

you were supposed to follow.

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It asks you one very simple, very brutal

question, if you survive this, what do

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you actually want your life to look like?

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And for me, the answer kept

coming back to Portugal.

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So this summer, after three years of

treatment, healing and rebuilding my body

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and my life, I finally got on that plane,

not for a vacation, not for a quick visit,

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but for two full months to test what

living there might actually feel like.

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I needed to know if what I

felt eight years ago was real.

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If it was just the excitement of

travel, the novelty of a new place,

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or if there was truly something about

Portugal that called to my soul.

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And as I'm recording this from Portugal

right now on October 2nd, having

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spent nearly two months here, I can

tell you it wasn't just excitement.

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There's something real here,

something worth exploring further.

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Let me paint you a picture of what my life

has looked like for the past two months.

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I'm staying in Lule, a beautiful

town in the Algarve region.

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My accommodation sits atop a hilltop,

and when I wake up in the mornings,

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I can see the ocean on the far

skyline, about 30 minutes away.

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In ra, I watch the sunrise most

mornings while doing guided meditations.

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Then I make myself an herbal tea,

sometimes matcha, and a light breakfast.

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And here's where it gets good.

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I have access to this incredible

living space with floor to ceiling,

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glass, windows, and doors all around.

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When I open them, the indoors

and outdoors become one.

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There's a pool where I do my

morning Pilates or yoga stretches.

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The air is fresh.

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The light is soft.

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Everything feels slower,

and that slowness.

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That's what I've been craving my entire

adult life without even knowing it.

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After my morning routine, I'd either work

on podcast ideas, PR strategies for my

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business, or I'd head out on an adventure.

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I've wandered through Lagos, Lagoa

Porches, Comporta sills, Vera.

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I even hopped over to Spain

to explore Seville and Aya.

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I visited Res.

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Which is supposedly the end of the

world, the most southern point of Europe.

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Standing there looking out at

the Atlantic, I felt something I

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can only describe as expansive.

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Most days I ate breakfast

and lunch at home.

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My goal for these two months

was simple, live like a local.

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Not like a tourist rushing from one

Instagram worthy spot to another, but

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like someone who's testing what it would

actually be like to live here in the

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late afternoons, usually between three

and 7:00 PM when most restaurants closed

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for Siesta, I'd strategize and work.

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Then in the evenings, I'd

pick a spot for dinner.

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Sometimes a small family owned restaurant,

sometimes a cafe overlooking the

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ocean, and I'd sit there alone with a

romance book and my thoughts and just.

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Be.

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Do you know how radical that is for

a black woman to just be, to not

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be performing, to not be proving,

to not be managing everyone else's

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comfort or expectations to just

exist in a space where you feel

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safe, free, and fully yourself?

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And that brings me to something I need to

unpack what safe and free actually means.

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When I say I felt safe and free in

Portugal, I'm not just talking about

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walking alone at night, though, yes,

I did that and it felt liberating.

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I'm talking about freedom from the

racial microaggressions that are so

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constant in the US that you don't even

realize how much energy you're spending

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navigating them until they're gone.

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I'm talking about freedom

from the relentless grind

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culture that tells black women.

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We have to work twice as hard, be twice

as perfect and never, ever slow down.

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I'm talking about freedom from

the biases that restrict our

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lifestyle choices, our financial

opportunities, our creative expression.

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In Portugal, I wasn't code switching.

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I wasn't calculating how to present

myself to make white people comfortable.

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I wasn't bracing for the question,

where are you really from?

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Or the surprise compliment.

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Wow, you speak English so well.

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I was just Octavia.

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A woman testing what a different

kind of life might feel like, and

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that level of peace, that level

of self discovery and liberation.

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It's something I didn't even know

I was missing until I had it.

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Now let's talk about what happened to

my body in Portugal, because this is

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where things get really interesting.

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Within the first 30 days, I

noticed significant changes.

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The inflammation that had been living

in my body, partly from the cancer

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treatment, partly from stress, partly

from just existing in America as a

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black woman, started to decrease.

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My nervous system began to reset.

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Some days I was so tired that I'd

take naps in the afternoon and

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instead of feeling guilty about it,

I'd wake up feeling restored, like

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my body was finally getting the rest.

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It had been begging me for.

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My sleep patterns, which have been erratic

since menopause started to stabilize.

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I was consistently getting seven

to eight hours of sleep per night.

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Some nights I'd go to bed early, other

nights later, but the quality of sleep

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was different, deeper, more restorative.

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My mind felt clearer.

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I wasn't stressed, I wasn't anxious

about the next thing on my to-do list.

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I was just present.

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And here's the big one.

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My digestion issues, which have been a

daily struggle since my colorectal cancer

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surgery were significantly minimized.

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Some foods that were fine

yesterday might cause issues.

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Today, it's exhausting to navigate.

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But in Portugal, those symptoms

were so much better, not gone

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completely, but manageable in a way

they haven't been since my surgery.

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Two years ago, my body

was telling me something.

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My mind was still trying to process.

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This environment supports your

healing in a way that home hasn't.

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And this brings me to something

I've been reading a lot about

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lately while I've been here.

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Not just romance novels though.

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Yes.

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I've been devouring books by Kennedy

Ryan, Danielle Allen, Regina Black

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jaquel, ER Pert, Nina Crespo,

tidy Richardson, and Maya Monique.

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But I've also been thinking

about the themes in these books.

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So many of the heroines in Black Romance

novels are on journeys of self discovery.

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They're women who've been living

according to other people's rules,

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other people's expectations.

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And at some point in the story,

they make a choice to reclaim their

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lives, to choose themselves, to

step into a version of their life

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that feels true rather than safe.

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And isn't that what I'm doing right now?

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I spent three years in cancer treatment.

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Three years of my body not being my own.

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Three years of doctor's appointments and

scans and surgeries and chemotherapy.

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Three years of other people making

decisions about my body, for my body.

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And now for the first time since

my diagnosis, I get to decide.

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I get to listen to what

my body is telling me.

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I get to test different possibilities, and

my body is saying, this place feels good.

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Keep exploring this.

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Now, some of you might be wondering,

Octavia, didn't you also spend time

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in Puerto Vallarta earlier this year?

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Yes.

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Yes I did.

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And I need to talk about that because

this part of the story is more nuanced

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than it might seem from May to June.

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I was in Puerto Vallarta,

Mexico, six weeks of lush jungle

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settings, Pacific beaches.

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Vibrant nightlife, incredible street

tacos, and some of the warmest, most

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welcoming people I've ever encountered.

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And here's what I need to be honest about.

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I fell in love with Porto Val Yata too.

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I know that might sound confusing

given everything I just said

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about Portugal, but stay with me.

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Porto Val Yata offered something.

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Portugal doesn't.

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An immediate, vibrant energy.

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The Mexican culture, the Spanish

language, mixing with my broken

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attempts at conversation the

way strangers would invite me to

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join their table at a restaurant.

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The spontaneous music in the streets.

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There was a warmth there,

both literal and figurative.

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That felt like being

wrapped in an embrace.

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Yes, I battled mosquitoes.

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Yes, I had allergic reactions that made

me swell up like Martin Lawrence in that

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episode of Martin with Tommy Hearns.

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But even that became part of the

story, part of the adventure.

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What I realized while I was there, and

what's become even clearer now that I've

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spent time in Portugal, is that these two

places pull on different parts of my soul.

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Porto Vallarta speaks to the part of

me that craves community, immediate

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connection, color, and heat.

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It's the part of me that wants to be

seen, that wants to dance in the street.

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That wants life to feel

like a celebration.

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Portugal speaks to the part of me

that needs restoration, contemplation,

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softness, and space to breathe.

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It's the part of me that's been

healing from cancer that needs my

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nervous system to reset, that craves

beauty without overstimulation.

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And here's where it

gets really interesting.

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While I was trying to make sense of

these two magnetic pulls, someone

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introduced me to something called

astrocartography, which is essentially

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astrology applied to geography.

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It shows where different planetary

lines run across the world and

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how those energies might affect

you in different locations.

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When I looked at my astrocartography map,

I saw clear significant lines running

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through both Porto Vallarta and Portugal.

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Two completely different

parts of the world.

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Two completely different energies, but

both calling to something real in me,

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and instead of seeing that as confusing,

I'm starting to see it as expansive.

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Maybe the question isn't

which one is right.

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Maybe the question is, what

does each place offer me at

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different seasons of my life?

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Because right now, in this moment,

October,: 2025

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rebuilding, still learning how to

trust my body again after cancer.

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Portugal is what my body needs.

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The slowness, the restoration,

the way my inflammation decreases

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and my nervous system calms down.

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But Porto Vallarta that might

be calling me towards something

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else, something more immediate.

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Something that meets a different need.

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What I know for sure is this, both places

made me feel more alive than I felt in

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the United States in a very long time.

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Both places allowed me to be fully

myself without code switching,

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without performing, without

managing other people's comfort.

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And maybe that's the real lesson here.

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Not that there's one perfect

place, but that there are places

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in this world where black women can

exhale, where we can live fully.

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We can heal and thrive and just be,

that's why I'm actively working on

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digital nomad Visa applications for

both Portugal and Porto Vallarta,

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because I don't have to choose just one.

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I can build a life that includes both.

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You know what's interesting?

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While I've been here in Portugal,

I've been thinking a lot about

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the romance novels I've been

reading and podcasting about.

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In episode 22, I talked about

solo adventures and how books

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became my passport before I could

travel internationally myself.

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In episode 16, I discussed love

after 40 and how women in their

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fifties can still get it, and not

just romantically, but in terms of

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living fully and unapologetically.

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In episode 17, I unpack the soft

life and what it means for black

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women to choose ease over struggle.

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And now sitting here in Portugal, I

realize I've been living out the themes

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I've been talking about in these episodes.

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The heroines in the books I

love Hendricks from Kennedy.

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Ryans can't get enough.

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Ella from Taner.

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Pertz Ella gets the D.

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Macy from Marley Ray's Macy, they

all have one thing in common.

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At some point they make a radical choice

to prioritize their own happiness.

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To step away from what's expected

and step into what's true.

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That's what I'm doing.

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And just like in those novels,

this journey isn't about

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running away from something.

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It's about running towards something,

toward a life that feels aligned toward

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a version of myself that isn't exhausted,

isn't performing, isn't just surviving.

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I'm choosing to explore what

thriving could look like, and that

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exploration itself is the plot twist.

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Okay, so let's get into the real talk

because I know some of you are thinking,

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girl, if you love it so much, why

aren't you already there permanently?

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Great question.

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And the answer is, I'm actively

working on it, but it's a process.

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Right now, I'm navigating the

Visa application process for both

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Portugal and Puerto Vallarta.

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For Portugal, I'm working on

getting a digital nomad visa, which

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would allow me to live there while

continuing to run my business remotely.

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Porto Vallarta has a similar program

that I'm exploring, and let me tell

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you, the process is not simple.

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Appointments at the Portuguese consulate

are nearly impossible to get right now.

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I've been trying for weeks and I've

learned from the people I've met

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here, many of whom are American

expats, that a huge number of

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Americans are moving to Portugal.

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The country is becoming

increasingly popular, which means

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the systems are overwhelmed.

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So there's that logistical hurdle,

and then there's the financial piece.

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I need to make sure I have the consistent

income streams and financial structure

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that supports this lifestyle long term.

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I'm a PR expert.

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I have my podcast.

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I have my wellness business, but I need to

ensure everything is set up in a way that

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allows me to live and work from anywhere.

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And if I'm being completely honest,

there's also uncertainty, not

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uncertainty about whether I want this,

but uncertainty about the logistics,

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the timing, the best path forward.

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Am I building toward Portugal as a

home base with Porto Vallarta visits?

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Or am I creating a truly nomadic

life that flows between both?

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These are questions I'm actively

working through, because let's be real.

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How many black women do you know who

are building location independent lives?

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At 54?

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How many cancer survivors do you know

who are completely restructuring their

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existence to prioritize healing and

joy over stability and familiarity?

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It's not the norm.

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And for black women especially,

we're taught to play it safe, to be

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practical, to think about everyone

else before we think about ourselves.

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But here's what I keep coming back to.

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If not now, when I survive

cancer, I'm in remission.

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I have my health, I have my clarity.

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I have a business I can run from anywhere.

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I have a deep, undeniable

knowing that this exploration is

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exactly what I need to be doing.

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: 00:19:59

So yeah, there's uncertainty, but

there's also commitment to the process.

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And sometimes committing to the

exploration is more important

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: 00:20:08

than having all the answers.

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Now, I want to talk about what this

means for the podcast because I know

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some of you might be wondering, does

this mean culture lit is changing?

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: 00:20:21

The answer is.

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: 00:20:22

Yes and no.

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: 00:20:24

The heart of this podcast celebrating

black romance novels, black women's joy,

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: 00:20:30

and the incredible authors who create

these stories, that's not changing.

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: 00:20:34

That will always be the foundation

of culture lit, but I am expanding.

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Because the truth is my life has

expanded my understanding of what it

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means to live fully, to prioritize

wellness, to build a business that

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supports the life I actually want.

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: 00:20:51

All of that has deepened

through this experience.

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So moving forward, you'll still

get the book recommendations, the

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: 00:20:57

author interviews, the deep dives

into the themes and tropes we love.

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: 00:21:02

But you'll also hear more about wellness

and self care as a form of resistance.

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: 00:21:08

What it means to prioritize rest,

joy, and healing, especially for

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: 00:21:13

black women entrepreneurship and

the business of storytelling.

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: 00:21:18

How black romance authors are

building empires and what we

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: 00:21:21

can learn from their strategies.

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: 00:21:24

Exploring international living as

a black woman, the realities, the

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: 00:21:28

challenges, the unexpected joys.

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: 00:21:32

Post 50 reinvention, what it looks

like to completely restructure your

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: 00:21:36

life in your fifties and beyond.

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I'm calling this evolution.

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: 00:21:40

Entrepreneurship meets wellness

through storytelling because

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: 00:21:44

that's what I'm living and that's

what I want to share with you.

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: 00:21:48

In one of my next upcoming episodes,

you'll hear from my interview with

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: 00:21:51

author Jaqua J, which will air on

October 29th, and after that, I'm

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: 00:21:57

committing to a weekly release schedule.

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: 00:21:59

Every week you'll get either a solo

episode diving into one of these themes

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: 00:22:04

or an author business spotlight where

I interview a Black Romance author

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: 00:22:09

about their creative process and their

business journey, because the two are

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: 00:22:13

connected, the art and the business,

the storytelling and the strategy.

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: 00:22:18

And I wanna give you both.

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: 00:22:21

So here's my invitation to you.

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: 00:22:23

What would it look like

to romanticize your life?

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: 00:22:26

Not in a performative Instagram

aesthetic kind of way, but in a real

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: 00:22:30

deep, I'm going to structure my days

around what brings me joy kind of way.

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: 00:22:36

What would it look like to listen

to your body the way I'm learning to

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: 00:22:39

listen to mine, to notice where you feel

expansive and where you feel constricted.

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: 00:22:45

What would it look like to make a choice?

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: 00:22:48

Even a scary one that moves you

toward exploring the life you actually

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: 00:22:52

want rather than staying in the life

you think you're supposed to have.

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: 00:22:57

I'm not saying you need to apply for

international visas, but I am saying

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: 00:23:02

pay attention to what lights you up.

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: 00:23:04

Pay attention to where you feel most

yourself, and then ask yourself, what

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: 00:23:09

would it take to explore more of that?

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: 00:23:11

Because here's what I've learned

over these past several months

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: 00:23:14

between Porto Vallarta and Portugal.

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: 00:23:17

Life is too short to spend it performing

someone else's version of success.

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: 00:23:21

Life is too precious to waste

it on relationships, jobs, or

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: 00:23:26

environments that drain you.

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: 00:23:28

And life, especially after cancer,

especially after hardship, especially

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: 00:23:33

after you've stared mortality in

the face is meant to be lived,

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: 00:23:38

not endured, not survived, lived.

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: 00:23:42

As I sit here recording this from this

hilltop home in Lule with the ocean

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: 00:23:47

in the distance and the Portuguese

sun streaming through those floor

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: 00:23:50

to ceiling windows, I feel something

I haven't felt in a very long time.

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: 00:23:55

Clarity about the next step,

not certainty about every

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: 00:23:59

detail of how this will unfold.

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: 00:24:02

Not absolute conviction that Portugal

is the answer forever or that I

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: 00:24:06

have all the logistics figured out.

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: 00:24:09

But clarity that this exploration,

this willingness to test different

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: 00:24:13

versions of my life is exactly

what I need to be doing right now.

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: 00:24:17

My body is telling me something

important, and for the first

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: 00:24:21

time in years, I'm listening.

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: 00:24:24

And if you've been waiting for

permission to explore what's calling

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: 00:24:27

you, consider this your sign.

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: 00:24:30

Thank you for being here with me today.

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: 00:24:32

Thank you for allowing me to

share this vulnerable, messy,

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: 00:24:35

beautiful journey with you.

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: 00:24:37

Thank you for being part of

the Culture Lit Community.

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: 00:24:40

If this episode resonated

with you, please share it with

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: 00:24:43

someone who needs to hear it.

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: 00:24:45

Tag me on Instagram or threads at becoming

Octavia and let me know what's one thing

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: 00:24:51

you're exploring for yourself today.

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: 00:24:53

What's one possibility you're

finally allowing yourself to test?

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: 00:24:57

And don't forget, next episode,

October 29th, I'll be sitting down with

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: 00:25:02

author jaquel J for an author business

spotlight that you will not want to miss.

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: 00:25:08

Until then, keep reading, keep dreaming,

and remember, your life is the greatest

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: 00:25:13

romance novel you'll ever write.

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: 00:25:16

And the best part you get

to decide if this chapter is

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: 00:25:19

about settling or exploring.