As Henry David Thoreau said, “ Not until we are lost do we begin to find ourselves.” Our'lost' might come from something negative in our lives or simply a fear of the unknown. It might stem from a sense of adventure or the adrenaline rush of taking risks. No matter where the feeling of being or getting lost stems from, it is through our journey that we discover who we are. We face our fears and find our passions. Most importantly, we find our strength. We find ourselves.

Everyone’s story is different. We all experience different things and have different paths. All of this makes each and every person unique and special. This was brought to light in reading the messages of others. I was moved and inspired by everyone who shared their story and what the “Let’s Get Lost” message means to them. I decided to bring the messages to one place for you to read. Take the time to get lost in their messages and stories. Let’s continue to inspire each other.

Let’s Get Lost to me is all about living your truths, putting yourself first in your life, and getting lost in finding yourself.

These past few months in quarantine up in New York has helped me dive further into what makes me truly happy. Not being able to just hop on a plane has made me really get out there and reconnect with nature and art. One of the only meaningful ways of finding yourself is getting lost in your truth and the simple things that make life matter. - Teresa (@grimgrinningteresa)

What does it mean to be lost? It means different things to each person but to me it means temporarily losing control of your life, to rebuild it, navigate through it, and come out higher and stronger than you have before.

I was just a few days past 21 when I lost my mom. To me it feels like she was taken from me right when my life just got started. I was looking forward to so many things that would come in my life where she would be my first phone call. But that just wasn’t going to be the case. I was lost. Who was I going to lean on? Who was I going to ask for help? The car I felt I was driving on a steady road had continued to swerve. I made many mistakes in the following years that are still glooming over me.

It’s coming on 5 years since she’s passed and although from time to time my life still feels like it’s swerving, I’ve learned to find myself again and strive to be the best version of myself. Despite it all, I’d like to say I’ve truly lived my dream the past couple years. I’ve been to places and experienced things I never thought possible. Scored my dream job, fallen in love, laughed, cried and smiled harder than I ever have. I pushed myself to new boundaries I never thought possible. - Charmaine (@charmainesfavoritethings)

For most of us, we chase the feeling of being alive. It can show up in so many ways either by riding that rollercoaster, falling in love, chasing your dreams or by traveling the world. For me, I feel alive when I do two things: when I push myself out of my comfort zone and by being kind to others. For some time I’ve been numb because of my mental health. I only wanted to stay in my comfort zone where I felt safe but I didn’t feel like I was living my life to my full potential. So how do I push myself out of that comfort zone? I meditate and let myself feel the feelings I need to in order to move forward. When I meditate it helps in giving me that push to go past my own walls and explore the world that’s out there with confidence. Being vulnerable and feeling your feels can be seen as a weakness but I see it so much as a strength. It takes so much courage to feel life, if that makes sense. Nothing reminds you more of what life is than feeling it. It can be good, it can be bad, it can be ugly but most of all, it can be beautiful. However, what makes me feel even more alive in this world is being kind to others. Seeing that smile when you make someone’s day or helping them when they’re not feeling 100% themselves brings me so much jubilation. It gives me those butterflies in my tummy and the feeling of complete happiness that I could help make their day, even if for just a moment. Life is all about finding these moments that bring everything together, the ones that make you go “this is what it’s all about”. - Jennifer (@peixotodust)

To me, let’s get lost means allowing yourself to dive head first into something that excites you. Maybe it’s researching a new business idea, exploring a new place, strengthening a relationship with a loved one or finally tackling that ‘one day I’ll....’ thought in your head and getting STARTED. Let’s get lost reminds me that it’s okay to get lost in thought, lost in the moment, lost in inspiration. This photo was taken on a day I got lost in a new city with my best friend - we spent some time people-watching + photo spot hunting, made a new friend, got super dehydrated, listened to Ariana Grande and just enjoyed our time together. Deciding to forgo an itinerary and just *explore* is such a freeing feeling, and one I want to experience more often. Let’s get lost y’all. Who knows what we might find. - Sara (@saraofarendelle)

In this unusual time we are living in it’s not uncommon to feel like you don’t have a handle on life. Honestly even without this pandemic, it’s normal to experience emotions that are all over the place. Maybe you don’t know what the next steps in your life will be or maybe you feel like you haven’t accomplished enough yet but you have to trust your journey!

.LET’S GET LOST in our dreams, our experiences, our fears, our happiness, our anxiety, our creativity, our goals and our LOVE! Getting lost in your own feelings can be a beautiful experience once you realize that you’ve found yourself. This life, this moment, is all you have so do yourself a favor and live life to the fullest!!!

.LET’S GET LOST together and find a beautiful world for tomorrow. Do something out of your comfort zone or perfect something within your comfort zone. Be kind and compliment someone that looks completely different from you. Spend time alone and ask yourself if you’re doing okay! I get lost everyday in the idea that the world can be a much better place not just for the future, but for right now! - Bri (@eatseemagic)

I’ve loved reading for as long as I can remember. I love books that are fantastical, books filled with magic, adventure, love and creatures that don’t actually exist. Times like this, where traveling and real adventures aren’t possible, just make me love books even more. While I can’t visit far off places in real life, I can bury myself in a book and be immediately whisked away.. - Cat (@mainstreet_mermaid)

I never felt more alive until I walked away from a very stable career into the complete unknown to chase a dream of creating Disney inspired content full time. I took the leap, but everything crumbled before my eyes. I had a job with a massive blog that fell through, I had no income, and I had lost what the world would call everything. But, I found something even better... The real me.

The real me is resilient.

The real me is confident.

The real me is abundant.

The real me is fun.

The real me is intelligent.

The real me is passionate.

I realized how much I love living in the present and how fun life can truly be! That I feel most alive when I’m spontaneous and do what I love doing. We aren’t on this earth to only wake up, go work, eat dinner, and go to sleep. There’s more to life than that! We are abundant beings.

So, let’s get lost in finding who we are meant to become. Let’s get lost in chasing happiness. Let’s get lost in those dreams tugging at our hearts and chase them relentlessly! Let’s get lost in living our lives to the fullest. - Shannon (@shancantgram)

For me, getting lost is the feeling that I have when I am in Disney, when my inner child is released and I’m reminded to never grow up. Getting lost is having an adventure with my fiancé, without a specific end in mind. It’s escaping reality for a few hours, and just living life to the fullest. - Charlie (@magicalifeofcharlie)

To me getting "Lost" means embracing the things we can't control, the things that scare us --the unknown. This year will be my 10th year of teaching kindergarten. Now normally I go into each year with butterflies, mainly because I set such high expectations for myself...however, this year gives "butterflies" a whole new meaning. Butterflies are now anxiety filled thoughts that cause sleepless nights. I am constantly filled with fear for my health, fear that I will not live up to expectations as an educator, fear that I can't get my students where they need to be by the end of the school year and honestly it's exhausting. The Lost Bros #LetsGetLost campaign seriously sparked so much inspiration to embrace this crazy time in our lives. At the end of the day we are all going through this together, and I can either focus on being upset and frustrated or happy and optimistic. This year I will do everything in my power to push through and be the best version of myself I can be. I'm ready to GET LOST, even though I'm anxious and scared this journey will make me STRONGER than ever and who wouldn't want that? - Taryn (@dreamalongwithtaryn)

What does “getting lost” mean to me specifically? Well, I am always asked what advice I would give myself if I were going back in time and restarting college. I would tell myself that it is OKAY to be a work in progress. It is OKAY to not have your life figured out yet. It is OKAY to make mistakes, have successes, or just play it safe sometimes. It is OKAY to be yourself. It is OKAY to still try to find yourself. You are a work in progress, and that is OKAY! It is OKAY to GET LOST and just live in the moment- because sometimes in being lost, you will be found. - Corey (@worldofcorey)

With everything happening in the world, it’s no secret that a lot of us are struggling with the everyday, wake-up-just-to-do-the-same-thing-again kind of monotony. And I’m definitely one of those! Pre-COVID, I could always get myself out of a rut like this by planning our next trip, whether it be to Disney or elsewhere.

Thinking of new destinations and new places to explore always gives me something to be excited about. And I truthfully get lost in my plans and dreams and ideas for the next adventure. Once that adventure is over, I plan the next one. I thrive in adventure mode, and if there’s anything that this period of time has shown me, it’s how to keep the spirit of adventure alive even during a pandemic! - Katie (@katiesadventurebook)

Getting lost can normally be so annoying and frustrating because you’re running late and have places to be and people to meet, but my abuela would always say thank you when we were driving somewhere and got lost. (This was obviously before GPS and navigation) I was so confused, but she would say “if you didn’t miss that turn, I wouldn’t have seen this new area.” I loved her positive perspective and it always stuck with me. Getting lost can sometimes be a blessing.

When my husband and I first started dating we decided to go on a backpack trip to Europe for two weeks and all we had planned was our clothes and our flight there and home. Though this was stressful at times, not knowing where we would sleep or what country we would end up in, we had the best time just getting lost. We vowed to try new things, explore together and soak everything in. I cherish those memories and we were exhilarated with adventure and getting lost. Live life to the fullest, take that leap and jump in feet first. Enjoy every moment because this is the only life we get to live. Let’s Get Lost. -Yvanna (@yvanna.at.the.parks)

To me, let’s get lost means getting lost in my own adventures, often times leading to new discoveries and possibilities.

Recently, especially during these weird times, I’ve found myself going on long walks, reflecting on life and what has led me to where I am. I oftentimes do feel very lost with where life has led me. But when I take time to really think and reflect, I become at peace. I know that I have a purpose. Getting lost in my own adventures, exploring nature, and taking time to really process what’s going on in my life gives me the drive and inspiration I need. The process of figuring out that purpose, involves me getting lost in my thoughts, feelings, and creativity. This really helps me create new dreams and conquer new goals.

I have a lot of aspirations, and I can’t wait to continue to achieve them. -Rebekah (@rebekahmarie8)

It is hard to find positivity sometimes, or even create that positivity for yourself. I think we can all agree that this year has felt like four seasons of winter, so when does the sunshine come along? Where is the rainbow when we’ve had all this rain? The problem is: we’re looking for the ‘right‘ path, when there is no path laid out for us at all. The road to happiness is one that we pave ourselves through mistakes, trials, unprecedented times, negative situations, DESPITE all the unhappy thoughts. - Makall (@makall.lauren)

My first job was moving to San Diego, and from there, I moved for four years between Los Angeles, Connecticut, and San Diego. I’ve met so many different people, from all over the world. And with being ‘lost’ I’ve learned so much about myself. I plan to do this again, taking the risk and moving to Orlando in about a month! I think I’ll forever be lost in my wanderlust, but that’s the beauty of life, you have to do things that will help you grow and give you experiences that shape and grow you. - Rhodri (@rhodmeetsworld)

In life, you face challenges and possibilities for new adventures and it’s up to you to take that step and face your fears. My journey was my teeth. In August 2018, I started my journey. I did my research and I found the best orthodontist and oral surgeons in Orlando. I was READY. I then faced my fears to post my journey on Instagram and I am so glad I did! It blew my mind on how many people wanted to know my story and learn about the process I was going through. Disney also helped me face my fears with characters like Goofy and Dale who are loud and proud with their beautiful gaps. I also found a way to express myself with love, laughter and happiness during this journey and I didn’t give a HOOT. If you want it bad enough, you can face any challenge or fear. You can do it. - Sam (@theindependentsprinkle)

I am one of those people that always “gets lost” — I’m constantly imagining what could be. From a young age, I’ve always been told “you have your head in the clouds” or “you have such a lofty imagination.” I’m a dreamer, a wisher, a hoper, a prayer. I’m always looking for what could be, and always wanting to act on that. And I attribute that to my biggest hero — my grandma. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

My grandma always taught me to never dream too small. She would always push me to be creative and think creatively — whether or not that was sitting down at her dining room table coloring for hours on end, or watching a musical or listening to jazz, she was always opening my mind to new things. And she would always be my biggest hero. And then 2013 came and changed everything. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Her passing really through my whole world into a flux. I truly lost myself, but not in a good way. I lost who I was, I lost who I was meant to be, and I lost the light inside all of us that pushes us. Pushes us to fantasize what our future will be. Pushes us to ideate what are dreams are and carve paths to achieve them. But then magic came and rekindled that spark. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Disney, and this community, revived what it means to “get lost” for me. It allows me to get lost in wonder, in dreams, in pure fantasy. It allows me to think big and dream even bigger. Just like what my grandma instilled in me, Disney tells me that no dream, no adventure, no hope is too small to achieve. All we need is faith, trust, and a bit of pixie dust. Never be afraid to get lost; that’s when magic happens. - Andrew (@takebuenavista)

When I think of getting lost I think of going to my happy place. The spot in my mind that lets me escape from the world even if it’s just a moment. Sometimes it’s even an escape from my own mind and negative thoughts that drain me daily. Instead of dwelling, I get lost in my passions: Fashion and making what most of you know as flat lays. In March of this year, my life changed for the better. I broke out of my shell and into the digital world of Instagram. I went from being behind the camera to being in front of it. Never did I imagine that my love for fashion and flat lays would be my escape. What others see as an ordinary tee, I see as a start to a new creation, like a painter with a new canvas eager to create, it excites me. It’s always a cool feeling when I hear people compliment my style because in all honesty, this is me. Whether I was going to class or a night out with the girls, I was dressed and always serving a look. Instagram opened the door for me to share my creations and to inspire others to think outside the box when it comes to Park fashion. What others might see as too much is perfect for me. What I did notice is there weren’t very many people that look like me creating Disney style flatlays that matched MY style. I wanted to show women and girls that look like me that it’s okay to wear that huge Minnie Bow and to dress from head to toe in Disney attire and not feel silly or odd for wearing it. I love that what I view as my happy place, a place where I create can inspire others to do the same. It’s so easy to get caught up in our daily lives and forget what makes us happy and feeling alive. I challenge you to find your passion, an escape and do something you love. I challenge you to get lost. - Teia (@locdndis)

I’ve always been lost in my own dreams, creativity, and aspirations. Getting lost is a constant journey of exploring the unknown, taking chances, pushing the boundaries, discovering YOU.

Growing up I was always lost in not knowing and being able to discover who I was and wanted to be. I could FEEL it in my bones I had dreams but I was always held back and told NO. I never quite fit in. I was always the weird one. Big nose, frizzy hair, Arab, talked too much. I went from living in my parents house to living where my husband’s military career took us. Never getting a moment to live by myself and just discover and get lost in ME.

It was with these constant military moves that I realized I needed to get lost in who I was. Too often there is the stigma that your life, opinions, personality, all of it stops and having babies is what you should do once military life starts. The stereotype is with due cause as I’ve witnessed many military spouses give up on their dreams and get lost in their spouses career. Rarely, but I have witnessed not so many spouses getting lost in their dreams as well. I knew from the beginning I never wanted to be that person who stopped getting lost. I stayed lost in my dreams. From my career, to auditioning, traveling, creating content full time, I continued to get lost in exploration and discovering who I AM. Sometimes that meant being apart from my spouse. In FACT I enjoyed our first deployment because I had more time to reflect on who I was and what I wanted in life. Of course we missed each other. I traveled more in that time and explored more than I ever have. In fact, the last 6 years of our military journey I’ve traveled and explored more on my own than in any of my 31 years on earth. I was even just about to take myself on my dream trip to Paris before rona said sike (and I still will when it’s safe). I never had that chance to be so alone with myself and get lost in my dreams than during deployment and I’m so grateful for it. I have never and will never put my dreams on hold because I have a choice and you do too!

Getting lost to me is all about embracing that unknown feeling of where your journey will take you. PUSHING YOURSELF. Extending the depths of your soul. Living with intention. BEING SCARED. Living YOUR life. I will always chase my dreams and push my boundaries no matter where life and love take me.

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