Without my business card to introduce me or my makeup brushes to define my worth, I had to sit with the uncomfortable silence of not knowing. The world had slowed down, and suddenly, all the busyness that had masked my identity crisis was gone.

I started asking myself hard questions. Who was the woman beneath all those impressive titles? What did I actually enjoy doing when there was no applause, no publication, no external validation waiting at the end?

The answers didn’t come easily. Some days I grieved the confident businesswoman who could command a room. Other days, I felt excited about the blank canvas in front of me.