5: My Inner Compass, AI, and the Question: What’s Left of Me?

Tokyo without GPS: Trusting My Inner Compass

I spent five years living in Tokyo with my family – three small kids, driving on the left side of the road, no readable street signs, no smartphone, no navigation system.

Every morning, I had to drive them to the German school. Through a giant city. On time. Safely.
And I was driving a long limousine, not the kind of spacious family van I was used to.

I never knew the names of the streets. But somehow, I felt the way.
My sense of direction wasn’t about maps. It was instinct.
A voice inside that said: Go this way.

But the moment someone questioned it – especially my husband – I would doubt it.
Even though I was usually right, I’d abandon my inner compass the second it got challenged.
That instinct was strong – but it didn’t like being second-guessed.

Getting Lost Was My Teacher – And AI Feels Similar

Sure, I took wrong turns. Got lost. Arrived late.
I had plenty of encounters with the police – mostly because I’d parked where I shouldn’t have, or ended up in one-way streets I couldn’t read.

But I always made it in the end.
Looking back, these mistakes were gold.
Trial and error has always been my learning style – not just with driving.
Every wrong turn expanded my view – geographically and mentally.

When GPS Made My Talent Obsolete

When navigation systems became common, suddenly everyone could do what I did.
No one got lost anymore.

What once felt like a real gift became… generic.

And honestly?
I felt robbed.

That thing that made me special was now irrelevant.
Everyone could “find their way” – and I started to feel like my way no longer mattered.
It’s hard when something you’re proud of is replaced by something faster, easier, more precise.

Now It’s Writing: AI Gave Me a Way to Speak

These days, it’s writing.

I never thought I could write publicly.
My thoughts were too scattered, my grammar too shaky, my style too messy.
I had something to say – but no way to say it clearly.

And then came AI.

Suddenly, I could shape my thoughts.
I had a tool that helped me structure, clarify, and edit without judgment.

I'm no longer afraid of mistakes.
I can finally express myself – without constantly editing myself out of the picture.

And here’s the funny part

I never thought I could speak to an international audience. My English just isn’t that polished.
But with AI, suddenly I can.

And not only that – I’m learning so much along the way. Vocabulary, expression, nuance.
What surprises me most: sometimes I understand my own writing better in English than in German.
It gives me distance. Perspective. A deeper mirror.

So while I’m writing for others, I’m also writing back to myself – from a slightly different angle.

From Talent to Tool – And the Questions That Come With It

Sometimes I think back to Tokyo – to that part of me that felt erased.
And I wonder:
Am I on the other side now?
Am I the one who “suddenly” has a voice – just because a system helps me?

I get the resistance.
I was once the person who felt replaced.

And I realize: we still struggle to accept tools as part of our expression.
But maybe this isn’t about replacing anything.
Maybe it’s about making things possible.

Writing with AI isn’t cheating – it’s evolving

Not because it makes everyone sound the same.
But because it allows more people to speak at all.

It helps us take the risk.
It helps us understand ourselves.
It gives us support – without taking over.

Just like GPS made cities more accessible,
AI makes thoughts more expressible.

Not for machines. For humans.

Losing a Talent Doesn’t Mean Losing Yourself

I get it – we’re scared that our talents might lose their value.
But maybe they don’t disappear.
Maybe they shift. Or grow. Or even amplify.

That’s how it feels for me.

Sometimes, talents show up in new places –
with new tools, new possibilities, new voices.

Maybe this isn’t a threat.
Maybe this is what growth looks like.

🌀 Coming soon

I’m still collecting. Observations, thoughts, contradictions.
Maybe this will become a PDF. Maybe not.

Or maybe it’s just my way of thinking out loud – and showing that AI doesn’t kill creativity.
Sometimes, it’s where a new voice begins.

Part 6 is already on the horizon.