What I Believe
A Journey Through Humanism, Stoicism, and Globalism
I didn’t grow up in a deeply religious household.
Church was more of a rumor than a routine.
But somewhere in my teenage years, I dove headfirst into faith and convinced myself I was meant for ministry. I thought the only way to be a good person was through religion—until the questions started.
At first, they were quiet: If I stop believing, do I stop being good?
Then they got louder: What if morality doesn’t need a middleman?
And eventually, I realized something I couldn’t unlearn—
kindness, meaning, and morality don’t require religion.
They just require intention.
That realization didn’t make me faithless—it made me curious.
And curiosity led me to philosophies that felt like home: Humanism, Stoicism, and Globalism.
Not as labels, but as the scaffolding for how I try to live.
Humanism: Ethics Without Superstition
Humanism clicked for me when I realized the values I admired in religion—compassion, generosity, justice—were never owned by it.
We don’t need divine permission to care about each other.
We just need to care.
Humanism says we’re responsible for one another, not because of divine command, but because we share the same fragile miracle of being alive at all.
It’s about leading with love, using reason as a compass, and believing in progress—not perfection.
And the best part?
It doesn’t demand that you reject those who believe. It builds bridges instead of borders.
Humanism, for me, is ethics without ego.
Stoicism: Mastering the Self
If Humanism grounds me in compassion, Stoicism keeps me from losing my mind when everything’s on fire.
I first connected with Stoicism through Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle Is the Way.
“The impediment to action advances action.
What stands in the way becomes the way.” —Marcus Aurelius
When my brother died, when I walked away from religion, when life got impossibly loud—Stoicism whispered, “You can’t control what happens, but you can control how you show up.”
Here’s what it taught me:
Pain isn’t a punishment—it’s a process.
Complaining is a hobby I can’t afford.
Control isn’t power; response is.
The best leadership is example, not authority.
It’s not about being unbothered. It’s about learning how to stay human through the storm.
Globalism: We Are Stronger Together
Globalism is the idea that our lives are stitched together whether we like it or not.
I learned this not from books, but from experience—serving in the military, meeting people from every corner of the country, realizing that connection beats division every single time.
The more we isolate ourselves, the smaller we become.
The more we connect, the more possible the world feels.
“A world in which we are all connected is one in which we all have a stake in each other's success.” —Barack Obama
Globalism isn’t about erasing cultures—it’s about celebrating them.
It’s about understanding that walls protect nothing worth keeping, and bridges build everything worth sharing.
The Evolution of Belief
I didn’t just wake up one morning with a philosophy degree and a sense of calm.
It took years of unlearning, questioning, and rebuilding.
I’ve been shaped by thinkers like Ryan Holiday, Brianna Wiest, and Mark Manson—
but even more by people who never wrote a book:
family, friends, strangers who showed me unexpected kindness, and critics who made me rethink my certainty.
Every moment—good or unbearable—has been a brick in the foundation of what I now believe:
Love is the only real doctrine worth preaching.
Curiosity is the only dogma worth keeping.
I still don’t have all the answers.
But I’m finally okay with that.
Because belief doesn’t need to end with a period—it can end with a question mark.
Closing Thoughts
Maybe Humanism resonates with you.
Maybe Stoicism steadies you.
Maybe Globalism opens a door you hadn’t considered.
But at the heart of all three is this:
We are responsible for each other.
We don’t need fear to be moral.
We don’t need heaven to be kind.
We just need to decide that compassion is worth the effort.
So let’s keep asking questions.
Let’s keep growing.
And let’s keep finding ways to make this shared world a little more livable.
Stay curious. Stay human. And always, be kind.
