Had you had that confidence at the age of 17, I’m confident I would be in a very similar situation as I am right now but with a memory of a life lived differently.   I can’t tell if it would be happier or not, but I do know I would have had more time for doing what I love most: solitude, contemplation, and living simply.   I’m guessing I would be here similarly situated but with more stories that I would be eager to tell.   My lack of confidence in what I knew to be true denied me those stories of living an authentic life.