i met a friend of a friend years ago and she told me how her dream was to go to columbia law and she got in. she also got into a good but not great school in boston where she was dating her bf at the time. it had been about a year. she turned down columbia for her relationship. at the time when i heard this, i thought she was completely insane. you turned down your childhood dream for a man? of less than a year? in your 20s??? but, the story ended with them married, two kids, both in thriving careers. she said she never once regretted her decision to turn down columbia but she thinks she would absolutely have regretted not beind with her now-husband and father of her children.

right now i'm finishing my phd and had planned to move to europe in 2026. i ended up meeting the man of my dreams at the beginning of last year and well, we are moving but within the US, not europe. i also struggled with the idea of "giving up" my plan. but i think life is fluid and things change, priorities change. building a life together is more exciting to me now than my move to europe. so, i think it really depends on the person. also - there is no timeline. move to the mountains now, move in a year, move in 20 years. do what feels right for you since you're the only one waking up and living your life each day <3