Do You Believe in “Coincidences”?

I stopped believing in them a long time ago.

There’s a quote—by an author unknown to me—that perfectly sums up the path I’ve taken in life:
“Fate is when you find something you weren’t looking for… and then realize it’s everything you ever wanted.”

That’s exactly what happened to me.

Back in elementary school, I had an incredible teacher—brilliant, socially engaged, and truly inspiring. I remember thinking, “When I grow up, I want to be just like her. I want to be a teacher.”

And so I did.
I became a teacher, secured a lifelong civil servant position before the age of 30, and everything looked perfectly set—my entire life planned out, safe and structured.

But then, I realized something.
The school system—constantly searching for mistakes, handing out grades, teaching in overcrowded classrooms filled with content that often felt disconnected from real life—that wasn’t what I had signed up for. It wasn’t aligned with who I was.

That realization hit hard.
I felt empty. Lost.
And I asked myself: Now what?

I felt like I didn’t belong. Like I was somehow fundamentally different—like the odd one out in a system where I just couldn’t fit in.
All while battling the guilt of not feeling grateful for what I should have appreciated: the job security, the structured life, the steady income.