For much of my life, fear shaped how I moved through the world. I learned to rely on the rational parts of myself while pushing away another part that had always been there—artistic, intuitive, spiritually curious and deeply connected to the subtle world around me. Eventually, that divide became impossible to ignore. Shamanic practice, intuitive work, astrology and energy work gave me new ways to understand myself, reconnect with what I had suppressed and question how I actually wanted to live. They didn’t teach me how to eliminate fear. They taught me new ways to meet it. During a shamanic journey, a spiritual and character mentor gave me the spirit name Valor. Valor means courage in the presence of fear. I experience that name less as something I’ve achieved and more as an invitation: to know myself, reclaim my power and choose a life larger than my fear. That’s the same possibility I want to create space for in others.