Not the Life I Saw for Myself

A Memoir on Finding Hope and Peace with the Life I Have

By: Reggie Hathorn

Narrated by: Reggie Hathorn

He thought he had life figured out, but life was like, nah.

He packed up everything and moved to Los Angeles with a whole vision in his head. Who he was about to become. How everything was supposed to play out. But life had a completely different plan.

The doors he expected to walk through stayed shut. The dream he chased kept drifting further away. Nothing went according to the plan he showed up with. He ended up taking jobs he didn’t even want, hustling to make rent, and trying to hold on to himself while everything he believed about his purpose was getting pushed and tested.

And somewhere in all of that, he lost himself. He tried to please people, tried to fit into spaces that didn’t fit him, tried to be what he thought others needed. The more he did that, the further he drifted from who he really was.

There were nights filled with loneliness, depression, and conversations with himself that led nowhere. Days when quitting felt easier than hope. But then came one moment of real clarity. A moment when everything slowed down and he finally saw himself again. A moment that made him realize the detour might actually be the real path.

Not the Life I Saw for Myself is a raw and honest story about disappointment, redirection, and rediscovering who you are when life refuses to follow your script. It’s for anyone who has watched their plans fall apart, tried to live for other people, and eventually learned that what feels like an ending can be the beginning you needed.

©2025 Reggie Hathorn (P)2025 Reggie Hathorn