Look &/or listen as my friend & colleague Caroline Guntur shares the story of her 18 year old self through a photo she keeps…. a Thing that matters.

You see Caroline was born & raised in southern Sweden. Though she had traveled often during her teenage years, at 18yo she decided to immigrate to the US. What do you pack for a move like that? With two bags, little money ($20), a family photo & a music CD, she arrived in Honolulu.

Her initial excitement quickly faded away as she landed in Hawaii realized she didn’t know where she was going to stay or what she was going to do. She didn’t know anyone and didn’t know the language. She didn’t even have a phone to call home.

She went into severe culture shock and stayed there for a very long time.

With only a Visa she couldn’t open a bank account or obtain a drivers license. Finding work & an apartment proved extremely difficult.

But this photo, of her in her first apartment in Honolulu, unpacking and settling in…. with a smile on her face… which hadn’t been there for many months… reminds her of her younger self realizing that everything WAS going to be okay.

She keeps this photo on her office wall because as an entrepreneur we often think we’re not far enough along in our businesses, we criticize ourselves for not doing more & being more…. this photo is a daily reminder of just how far she has come over the past 20 years.

Find out more about this brave & beautiful woman and her important healing work in the world here: HERE

This short story was clipped from my live virtual Show & Tale: Significant Objects in the fall of 2021 which encourages us to build deeper connections, community & legacy one story of stuff at a time.

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