Hello fellow fans, my name is Kaitlin, and I love to plan.

As I sit here musing on another twenty-something birthday, my mind is filled with trepidation and exhilaration at what the future holds in store. People often say that’s what your twenties are for, but I would argue that whether you’re 18 or 98, you probably ask yourself that same question from time to time – what comes next?

Maybe you are like me and feel giddy penciling in dates in your planner. Maybe you or someone you love has a color-coded fridge calendar for short-term planning and an actual five-year plan document on their laptop. Sometimes life ends up following your plans, but my personal experience has taught me that life has a mind of its own, twisting and turning and pushing you to venture into places you never imagined.

Despite my penchant for planning, my favorite fandoms are centered around the joy of the unplanned adventure.

Starships exploring new worlds, an orphan boy realizing he’s a wizard, and a hobbit somehow finding himself facing down a dragon. In fiction as well as real life, those unplanned adventures are what make the story of our life a real page-turner. Life unexpectedly brought me to an amazing university, strong friendships, far-off destinations, diverse work opportunities, and deep personal revelations. Have those things been some of the biggest and best surprises of my life? You bet! Was it always easy or pleasant exploring unfamiliar territory, sometimes miles away from dear friends and family? Hardly. But I’ve found that our journeys are about celebrating the peaks AND persevering through the valleys. It’s all about our second chances, our rekindled relationships, our rich experiences, and getting to know ourselves through triumphs as well as disappointments. Let’s chalk it all up to character development and move along to the next incredible chapter.

So what if your friends make planning life look easy? Write YOUR story, fellow fans. Every single person you meet is a multidimensional character with their own unique strengths, weaknesses, and dreams. So you want to build a family, climb the work ladder, celebrate the single life, backpack around the world, or follow your secret dream? As we learn from Bilbo Baggins, it’s never too late to go conquer that dragon. You’ve got an epic tale to tell that is uniquely yours, so what will today’s page say?

As for me, I’m going on a lifelong adventure, and I hope you’ll come along.