Sara’s View of Life with Sara Troy. On air from April 14th

I thought I would take a tiny look back on my seven decades, and revisit the memories.

Age 20 – Stepping Into the World. The Decade 20–30: The Years That Made Me

There are decades in our lives that quietly pass…
and then there are decades that shape us.

My twenties were not a gentle unfolding.
They were a leap—into the unknown, into the world, and into myself.

At twenty, I didn’t step out with a clear plan or a mapped-out future.
I stepped out with curiosity… with openness… and with a heart that believed in humanity.

And that, as I would come to learn, was both my gift… and my lesson.

The World Became My Teacher

I didn’t learn from books—I learned from life.

Travel opened doors that no classroom ever could. From Paris to Greece, from Italy to Spain, from the United States to the roots of my life in South Africa, each place gifted me something different… something I needed.

I discovered that no matter where we come from—our culture, our language, our beliefs—we are all seeking the same thing:

To love…
to be loved…
and to live a meaningful life.

There were moments that felt like magic.

Dancing on the steps of Montmartre in Paris, where music seemed to gather around me, people chanting my name, my friend capturing it in art form. It was as if the universe itself was orchestrating the moment… strangers becoming part of a shared joy, a collective rhythm.

Walking alone under the moonlight in Greece, a song rising from somewhere deep within me, only to be joined by a stranger whose voice met mine in harmony—two souls, unknown to each other, yet connected in that moment.

These were not just experiences…
they were awakenings.

Love, Connection, and Being Seen

In Spain, I met a man who, for a time, truly saw me.

He didn’t try to fix me.
He didn’t judge me.
He simply held space for me—to be, to feel, to share.

And sometimes, even a brief love can leave a lasting imprint.
Not because it lasted forever… but because, in that moment, it was real.

Those moments mattered.

They reminded me that connection was possible…
even if it wasn’t always permanent.

I met my ex-husband when I was twenty-six. From the very beginning, it was tumultuous—there was trauma woven into it—but the attraction was addictive. I had never intended to marry. To me, being with someone was a choice made each day from the heart, not something bound by a piece of paper.

When I was twenty-eight, my daughter was born—she was deeply wanted and chosen. But the external pressure to marry became overwhelming, and so we did. We went on to have two more children.

Yet, it was a marriage that should never have happened, and the pain of it left lasting scars.

The Lessons That Come With Openness

But life has a way of balancing beauty with truth.

I trusted easily—because I believed in people.

And while that brought incredible souls into my life, it also brought lessons… sometimes hard ones.

Not everyone who enters your life is there to honor you.

Some come to take.
Some come to teach.
And some… come to wake you up.

There were moments of danger, moments of uncertainty—times when instinct had to lead because logic had no time to catch up.

Like the day I found myself lost in a part of Washington no one dared to go… and yet, through presence, connection, and a willingness to meet people eye to eye, fear dissolved into humanity.

Those experiences taught me something powerful:

When we lead with fear, we close doors.
When we lead with presence, we sometimes open hearts.

Finding My Way Without Fitting In

I was never academic. That path was never mine.

But what I lacked in structure, I made up for in instinct.

I could walk into a room and feel what was needed.
I could see what people couldn’t express.
I could serve—not from training, but from knowing.

This got me every job I had, not my credentials, but my essence of being.

Whether working in restaurants or stepping into roles I technically wasn’t “qualified” for, I found my way by connecting with people.

I worked in many jobs, not for a career, but for an experience and to see if I could do it.

I became South Africa’s first female Mobile Oil representative—not because I knew oil… but because I knew people.

And that mattered more.

I realized that service isn’t about knowledge alone…
it’s about understanding, presence, and care.

Expression, Joy, and Being Alive

There was joy too—so much joy.

Music, dance, movement… the freedom of expression. Discovery, meeting new people, experiencing things I had never done, tasted, and seen.

I became South Africa’s first official go-go dancer, at the age of 15, at a time when it was still vibrant and alive, before it took on darker connotations. This was the start of my exploration and setting me up to what I do today.

The rhythm of Africa…is in its soul its soil,
the beat of music…
the energy of the dance floor…

That was life moving through me.

Even when my body struggled—with asthma, with limitations—my spirit still danced.

The Awakening of Knowingness

Through all of this, something deeper was quietly growing within me.

A knowingness.

Not learned.
Not taught.
But felt.

I began to see that I could sense what others needed… that I could understand things without knowing how I knew.

At the time, I didn’t fully trust it.

I was still looking outward for validation… still trying to fit into a world that was never designed for someone like me. Dyslexia, ADD, Asthma, Eczema, and insecurity.

But the seed was there.

And it was growing.

The Decade That Built Me

Looking back now, I can see it clearly.

My twenties were not about getting it right.

They were about experiencing…
exploring…
falling…
rising…

They were about becoming.

Every high lifted me.
Every low shaped me.
Every person, every place, every moment—left its imprint.

And through it all…

I was being prepared.

For Anyone Walking Their Twenties Now

If you are in this decade of your life, or remembering it…

Know this:

You are not meant to have it all figured out.

You are meant to live it.

To explore the world…
to explore yourself…
to make mistakes…
to discover your strength…

Because this decade?

It doesn’t define you.

It builds you.

Closing Reflection

My twenties were messy, magical, painful, and beautiful. I got married, had my first child, moved yet again to a new country, traveled explored.

They didn’t make sense at the time.

But they gave me something invaluable…

They gave me ME.

AMAZON

FIND ALL SEVEN DECADES HERE

FIND MORE SHOWS OF ILLUMINATION HERE

All my links can be found on linktr.ee/saratroy

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