Sex.  Marriage.  Kids.  Home purchase.  Divorce.  It’s a path we take, often without thinking too much about it.  We find ourselves busily living a life that feels like it happened to us, and sometimes wonder: How did I get here?

It’s exciting to feel loved, to know someone wants to spend their life with you.  Relationships are about sacrifices and compromise.  Parents say there’s no greater joy than having a child.  And being an adult is defined as taking on responsibilities and managing stress.  But dig a little deeper and realize, in the great words of Jim Carrey, “So many of us choose our path out of fear, disguised as practicality.”

Change is hard, so we take the path of least resistance, thankful for what we have, knowing that nothing will ever be perfect.  Is this the lie we tell ourselves, and each other?  One of the hardest things we can do in life is be honest with ourselves.

• Do I really want to marry this person or am I caught up in the moment and doing what is expected of me?
• We’re madly in love, together for years. Our friends and family keep asking when we’re getting married. Is marriage really necessary?
• Should I accept my sexless marriage if the other parts of our relationship work?
• My partner wants kids but I’m on the fence. If I love my partner, should I get on board?
• Am I actively making choices and are they leading me to who I want to be?

The most important conversations we have in life are the hardest ones. We’re afraid of hurting people’s feelings and of what others will think of us.  But it’s amazing what happens to you and your life when you take the bold (and scary!) steps of creating a life you love.

You are surrounded by people in the exact same situation, but you’d never know it, because no one is talking about it. We post our highlights to social media, reinforcing the illusion that the beaten path equals happiness. Privately, however, people are experiencing a sense of isolation, emptiness and anxiety. It’s time to cut the shit and start the conversations we’re not having.

This is a candid uprising.