His dream was to own a restaurant, and I admired his willingness to reject a traditional 9-to-5 to build something of his own.

He entered the industry as a teenager, worked his way up to general manager at a local restaurant by his mid-20s, and eventually became a partner there. By 30, he had achieved the dream he'd spent years pursuing: becoming the restaurant's sole owner.

Watching him move closer to that goal over the years was exciting, and I was proud to support him along the way but now, in my early 30s, I'm realizing how much of my own future I've put on hold while waiting for that dream to financially pay offDuring slower months, when every dollar he earned went back into the business, I became the one responsible for keeping us afloat. I paid our bills. Vacations were canceled. On more than one occasion, I had to borrow money from my parents to make rent.

Over time, his career began shaping mine, too. I'm a writer, and I've always wanted the freedom to pursue my own creative ambitions, but our circumstances required me to prioritize stability instead.

While my partner reinvested much of what he earned back into the restaurant, I spent years staying in corporate roles because we needed the security of a steady paycheck.

The irony isn't lost on me. One of the qualities that I was so attracted to in the first place was his willingness to reject a conventional career path and pursue his dreams.

Supporting his ability to do that, though, has often required me to choose a more conventional path myself