There’s a side to my story that’s hard to share, but maybe that’s exactly why it needs to be told. I’ve spent so much of my life trying to find happiness, searching for it in all the places we’re told will make us whole. I’ve read self-help books that promised I’d find answers if I just committed to their pages, sat through podcast after podcast hoping for some insight that would unlock the peace I was looking for. And for a time, some of it helped. I’d feel a lift, a glimpse of something real, like I was moving closer to feeling grounded, feeling good. But the relief was always temporary. Before long, the emptiness would seep back in, that ache for something I couldn’t name.

I tried everything I could think of to make that feeling go away. I talked with therapists, I practiced mindfulness, I committed to routines that I thought would keep me anchored. But again and again, no matter how many layers I uncovered, no matter how many routines I created, I kept coming back to that feeling that something was missing.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s felt this way...chasing happiness only to realize it slips away faster than we can hold on to it. And the more I searched, the more I began to wonder if it was even something I could find in myself, or if it was out there somewhere, waiting for me to experience it with other people.

That realization started to take shape on my travels. I’ve been fortunate to visit so many different places and meet people from all walks of life. And over time, I began to notice a common thread that ran through every culture, every community: it wasn’t fame or success or individual achievement that made people feel fulfilled. It was part of something. A community that knew them, accepted them, lifted them up. It was art, creativity, and self-expression that allowed people to see and be seen. It was that sense of connection that made life meaningful. In the bustling streets of Frankfurt, in the art-filled corners of Rio, in the warmth of a family meal in Morocco, everywhere I went, I saw that the real foundation of happiness was built with others.

That’s why we created Culture Lime. It’s born from a belief that we’re not meant to do life alone. It’s a place where we can come together, not to put on a mask or check boxes, but to feel real connection. Culture Lime is about fostering a community where creativity and connection aren’t just buzzwords—they’re lifelines. This space is for those of us who have spent too long looking for meaning in places that come up empty, for those of us who need a reminder that we don’t have to walk through this life on our own.

Culture Lime is about creating a space where we can let our guard down and be real with each other. It’s about giving ourselves permission to feel alive, not because we’re chasing success, but because we’re finding something real with each other. A space where you can show up as you are, where the shared experiences and creative expressions bring us together and let us see, really see, each other.

And if, like me, you’ve felt that emptiness, that feeling that no accomplishment could fill, I hope you’ll find something here. Because I believe that, in the end, what we’re all really looking for is each other. And here, together, maybe we’ll find a way to feel whole again.

Wallace