Finding My IT
October 2026 · A new season
A personal reflection on writing, purpose, and releasing Find Your IT.
8 minute read · Includes Chapter 3
Happy
New Day.
I’m ready for this season.
I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out my purpose. Lately, writing has started to feel like an answer.
I want to share a little of where I am right now. I’m in a period of career transition, and I know the direction I’m working toward. Understanding what feels meaningful to me has taken longer. That’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while, even when I haven’t known how to explain it.
There was a point when I didn’t want to release Find Your IT. I was still working through questions about my own purpose, and that made it difficult to put the book out. I didn’t feel settled in what I was going through.
Now that it’s released, I feel more comfortable saying that writing and being an author is my “it.” I enjoy having a place to share my thoughts. I enjoy taking something that matters to me and giving it enough attention to become a story someone else can spend time with.
I’ve done a lot of searching for what that feeling might be. Meanwhile, I was already writing. I was already creating and sharing pieces of myself. I’m starting to recognize how much that means to me.
And I want to keep doing it. I want to help people through what I share, while allowing myself to be myself. I can tell you what I’m thinking, what I’m learning, or what I’m still trying to understand. You get to decide what stays with you.
A story I’m grateful to share
Find Your IT began with a story Uncle Carl told me at a community feeding for people experiencing homelessness hosted by my stepfather, T.W. We were gathered there, giving to people in need. Out of the stories he shared, this one stayed with me, and I began to write.
I wanted to acknowledge that because people should know where the inspiration came from. Uncle Carl is someone I look up to for who he is in the community and what he gives to the people around him. I’m grateful he shared his story with me.
As I developed the book, I wanted young readers to have space to think about what interests them and what they might want to try. Kadyn’s experiences with Mr. New Day give him opportunities to be curious, get frustrated, make an effort, and learn about himself.
To me, finding your “it” means paying attention to what matters enough to you to explore. You may notice it in something you enjoy making, a problem you want to understand, or a way you like helping people. It can take time to recognize.
I hope a young reader enjoys the story and feels encouraged to try something without needing to be good at it right away. I hope the adults reading along listen to what catches their attention. Sometimes a question about a story gives a child a way to tell you something about themselves.
I’m ready for this season
For me, the next part is giving writing the time and care I want to give it. I want to keep sharing my thoughts and learning how to tell the stories I have to tell.
I know there will be lows. There will be days when I question myself or feel disappointed with how something turns out. I’m ready to work through that. I want to give myself the chance to see where this goes.
I feel like I’m finally setting foot in my “it.” There’s still plenty I’m figuring out, but being an author feels right to me. I’m glad I released the book, and I’m glad I get to share this part of my life with you.
If you’re reading this while figuring out something of your own, I hope you give yourself some time. Pay attention to what you enjoy and what you want to return to. You may already be doing something that deserves more of your attention.
What have you been wanting to give more time to?
Happy New Day.
From the world,
DaQuan
I wanted to leave you with a chapter from Find Your IT.
A chapter from Find Your IT
Chapter 3
Room 1: The Curiosity Room
The room didn’t look like a classroom, and that was the first thing Kadyn noticed.
There were no desks lined up in rows, no whiteboard waiting at the front, no posters reminding him what he was supposed to learn. Instead, the space felt open and unfinished, like it was meant to be moved through instead of sat in. Light poured in from high windows, and the air carried that quiet hum you feel right before something starts.
Three tables were spread across the room, each holding something different.
Kadyn stopped just inside the doorway, his backpack still hanging from one shoulder. He felt the same way he did when he opened a new app or flipped to the first page of a book he wasn’t sure about yet—interested, but cautious.
“This is… it?” he asked.
Mr. New Day nodded. “This is the first room.”
Kadyn looked around again, waiting for more. When nothing came, he frowned. “You’re not going to explain what I’m supposed to do?”
Mr. New Day smiled slightly. “Not right away.”
Kadyn didn’t like that answer, but something about the room made him step forward anyway.
The first table was covered in loose pieces—blocks, connectors, shapes that didn’t immediately look like they belonged together. Some were smooth and cool to the touch, others rough along the edges. There were no instructions, no pictures showing what the final product should look like.
Kadyn picked one up and turned it over in his hands. It felt solid. Possible.
“So I just… build something?” he asked.
“You can,” Mr. New Day said. “Or you can decide not to.”
“That’s not very helpful,” Kadyn muttered, but he stacked two pieces together anyway.
At first, the structure stood. Then it leaned. Then it collapsed.
Kadyn sighed, but instead of walking away, he adjusted the base and tried again. This time he added a different piece, just to see what would happen. The shape came out uneven, nothing like what he had imagined in his head, but he found himself tilting it, turning it, testing how it balanced.
He realized something then—he wasn’t frustrated. He wasn’t even thinking about whether he was doing it “right.” He just wanted to see what would happen next.
After a moment, he set the piece down and stepped back, like he didn’t want to get stuck there too long.
The second table held a flat board etched with symbols and patterns. Lines crossed and repeated in ways that didn’t make sense at first glance. A small stack of cards sat beside it.
Kadyn picked one up and read aloud. “Step one: Identify what repeats.”
“That’s it?” he asked.
“There are more,” Mr. New Day said. “If you need them.”
Kadyn leaned over the board, squinting. At first, he guessed. That didn’t work. Then he tried moving the board, flipping it, even tracing the symbols with his finger. Still nothing.
He felt a flicker of annoyance rise in his chest, but instead of stepping away, he paused. Looked again. Slower this time.
That’s when he noticed it—one shape showing up every third space.
“Oh,” he said quietly.
He followed the pattern forward, then backward, testing it. The next step wasn’t written anywhere, but he tried it anyway.
It worked.
Kadyn felt a small rush spread through him, warm and quick. He didn’t finish the whole puzzle. He didn’t need to. What mattered was the moment when confusion turned into understanding, when his brain leaned forward instead of pulling back.
He stepped away from the table with a small smile, like he’d figured out something private.
The third table looked the most ordinary. Just thin booklets and diagrams stacked neatly, nothing that stood out at first.
Kadyn picked one up anyway.
“What’s this about?” he asked.
Mr. New Day glanced over. “You tell me.”
Kadyn skimmed the first page. Then slowed down. The words led to diagrams, the diagrams led to questions, and the questions made him flip the page.
He didn’t realize how long he’d been standing there until Mr. New Day cleared his throat gently.
Kadyn looked up. “What?”
Mr. New Day nodded toward the clock.
Kadyn followed his gaze and blinked. “Oh.”
He hadn’t meant to stay that long. It hadn’t felt long. His shoulders were relaxed, his mind steady, like he’d slipped into a quiet tunnel without noticing.
He set the booklet down carefully, like it might still be waiting for him later.
Kadyn stepped back and looked at all three tables.
None of them felt finished. None of them felt perfect. But one of them had pulled him in deeper than the others, without asking permission.
Mr. New Day stood beside him now. “Which one did you go back to?” he asked.
Kadyn hesitated. “I didn’t mean to,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to choose.”
Mr. New Day nodded. “That’s usually how curiosity works. It doesn’t announce itself. It just keeps you company.”
Kadyn looked at the table again. “So… is this my IT?”
“Not yet,” Mr. New Day said. “But it’s a clue.”
“A clue to what?”
“To what holds your attention before you’re worried about being good at it,” Mr. New Day said. “To what makes effort feel lighter.”
The bell rang, short and sharp.
The door on the far side of the room opened.
Kadyn took one last look at the tables. He didn’t know what his IT was yet. But now he knew what curiosity felt like—and he had a feeling he’d recognize it again when it showed up.
Spend a little time with Kadyn.
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