Your Story, Your Draft
By Mikayla Brown
We often hear the phrase, “You are the hero of your own story.” It sounds inspiring, but for the longest time, I saw it as just another comforting cliché adults used whenever life felt uncertain.
When I was around sixteen, approaching the final years of high school, the future felt overwhelming. It seemed like everyone around me already had an idea of what success should look like. Success meant pursuing a career that was stable, respected, and financially rewarding. I found myself surrounded by voices telling me what career path would make the most money, what would bring the most recognition, and what would make me successful in society’s eyes. For a while, I believed those voices.
I thought life had to follow a clear and predictable script. Study hard, choose the “right” career, follow the expected path, and success would naturally follow. But as I grew older and started making real decisions about my future, I began to realise something important: life does not come with a single script, and no one else should be writing mine.
Like every great story, life goes through many drafts. The final version rarely looks like the first outline we imagined. There are chapters filled with uncertainty, plot twists we never expected, and moments where we are forced to rewrite everything we thought we knew about ourselves.
At seventeen, while trying to discover who I was and what my strengths were, I struggled with one question: What do I actually want? That question changed everything.
For a long time, I believed I would pursue a career in law. It seemed like the sensible chapter to write in my story, stable, respected, and a career path that made sense to the people around me. On paper, it looked like the perfect direction. It offered security, recognition, and everything many people define as success. But deep down, I knew something felt missing. As much as law seemed like the practical choice, my passion lived elsewhere. I found myself drawn to writing, literature, storytelling, communication, and creative spaces where ideas could inspire, connect, and make an impact. Those were the things that made me feel alive.
The difficult part was not just admitting that to others, it was admitting it to myself.
Choosing not to continue pursuing law was not an easy decision. It felt like stepping away from a version of my future that everyone had already accepted for me. It meant walking away from certainty and choosing a path that felt far less predictable. What made it even harder was the doubt from others.
I heard the same concerns repeatedly: creative careers do not pay the bills, passion is not practical, and eventually I would need to choose something more “realistic.” Those words planted doubt in my mind. They made me question whether pursuing what I truly loved meant risking my future.
More than anything, I was afraid that choosing a different path would make me seem directionless or as though I lacked purpose.
At my current age, one of the biggest turning points in my journey has been the opportunity ORT SA gave me as a marketing and communications intern. ORT SA created an environment that allowed me to step into a career field I had once been too afraid to pursue. It gave me the space to grow in creative and communication-focused work and showed me that choosing a different path did not mean I had no direction.
Instead, it showed me that sometimes purpose is found in the very places we are afraid to explore. That experience taught me something powerful: purpose is not about fitting perfectly into society’s expectations. It is about discovering where your passion, strengths, and impact align.
My dad gave me a piece of advice that has stayed with me through every moment of doubt. He said, “Do what you love to do, and it won’t feel like a job.” Those words became a reminder for me whenever uncertainty crept in. That taught me that success is not only about earning a living; it is also about waking up every day feeling fulfilled by what you do. It is about knowing that your work reflects who you are and what matters to you.
Writing your own story starts with one simple choice, picking up the pen, do not settle for the pen in someone else hands just because they claim it writes better. Choose your own. Write in colours that reflect your personality, your passions, and your purpose. There will be rough drafts, mistakes, and chapters that do not go according to plan. But that is what makes your story real. The beauty of life is not in perfection, it is in authenticity. One of my favourite quotes by Nelson Mandela says, “It always seems impossible until it is done.” Sometimes the chapter ahead may feel impossible to write. The dream may feel too big, too risky, or too far out of reach. But growth often begins the moment you stop allowing fear to hold the pen. So, as you continue writing your story, ask yourself one important question, what do I want to be remembered for?
Do not let fear write your ending before your story has truly begun. Pick up your pen, trust your voice, and keep writing because no one can tell your story better than you.
