The Final Stretch

3,508 days gone.

143 left.

That’s ten years abroad—a full decade.

And I’m not done yet.

The Starting Line

On November 30th, 2015, I left the U.S. with a one-way ticket and a vague sense that something bigger was waiting out there.

No grand plan.
No checklist.
Just an inner pull to step out of what I knew and into whatever would shape me.

What I found wasn’t just new places.
It was a new rhythm.

And now, with 143 days left until I hit the 10-year mark, everything feels like it’s tightening.
Clarifying.
Not ending—but becoming something else.

The Path

In the last 3,508 days, I’ve:

– Run 100 km across volcanic rock
– Sat in complete silence for ten days straight—ten times
– Built a business in coffee shops, forests, subways, and side streets
– Taught and coached across languages, industries, and cultures
– Fallen in and out of love—with people, places, and past versions of myself

But my favorite moments?

They weren’t on mountaintops or finish lines.
They were the ones no one else saw:

A conversation with a middle-aged woman in a small Taiwanese town, who spoke about the aurora borealis in Nova Scotia with the eyes of someone who’d never been—but believed in wonder.

A middle school student in Korea who waved at me once, silently, and something shifted.

A shared laugh with a stranger over nothing—and everything.

Not flashy.
Not documented, until now.
Just real.

Moments that reminded me:
Connection doesn’t have a location.
It happens anywhere, anytime, with anyone—if you’re open enough to notice.

The Myth I Never Bought

I never chased stamps.
I never needed the “where have you been?” game.

For me, living abroad was never about escape or resume-building.
It was about immersion.

In people.
In moments.
In the space between languages, expectations, and identities.

And now, standing at the edge of ten years, I realize:

I wasn’t running away.
I was learning how to stay.
With myself.
With uncertainty.
With truth.

Ten years is a long time to wander.
But now it’s time to build.

Not louder.
Better.

That means:

– A business that serves from the soul, not just the algorithm
– A partner who sharpens, not softens
– A life grounded in practice, not performance

I don’t need more adventure.
I need deeper alignment.

And these last 143 days?
They’re not about bucket lists.
They’re about locking in.

The Finish Line

3,508 days gone.
143 left.
That’s ten years abroad—a full decade.

This isn’t a countdown to closure.
It’s a commitment to alignment.

To live with intention.
To lead with heart.
To rise with grit.

I didn’t come this far to coast.
I came this far to finish awake—
aware, aligned, and fully alive.

Not looking back.
Not drifting forward.

But running through the tape—with clarity in my mind, strength in my stride, and truth in my breath.

The final stretch isn’t about slowing down.
It’s about locking in.
And finishing like it means something.

Let’s go.

— Ace