Walking Away Without a Map: Poetry & Reclaiming Agency with Tom Shaw

He was training to be a dentist. Secure path. Helping people. Everything looked right from the outside.Inside, something was breaking.Tom Shaw walked away — not with a plan, but with a refusal to keep betraying what he knew. What followed wasn't clarity. It was poetry, uncertainty, and the slow work of rebuilding trust in himself.Today, through *Over to the Youth*, Tom creates spaces for young people to do the same.In this conversation, we explore:- Disillusionment as a signal for clarity rather than failure- How agency is rebuilt when systems train us to outsource it- Poetry as a tool for integration, self-trust, and truth-telling- What young people are carrying that wider society struggles to hear- The difference between consuming ideas and creating from lived experience🔗 Connect with Tom:https://tom-shaw.uk🔗 Over to the Youth:https://overtotheyouth.com🍄 Spore Journeys is a podcast by Mycelium Hub, exploring real-life transitions through agency, integrity, and community.