Today marks my fourth anniversary… with Rome.

Of course, it’s been an up-and-down relationship. And will it be “till death do us part”? Too early to say. But, like any epic romance, Rome has changed my life—and changed me—in ways that, just a short time ago, seemed highly unlikely.

And so I’m incredibly thankful that, four years ago, a younger version of myself faced up to some serious questions. Am I happy doing what I’m doing? What might make me happier? And, most crucially, What might I regret not doing?

They are the same questions that, at some point, we all have to face. And the answers I got back were, as they are for so many people, incredibly intimidating. If not downright scary.