This Stays Here, Ok?

Dear Younger Me,

Brace yourself.

One day, you're going to change your mind about something you once defended with your whole chest. When that day comes, you're going to think the sky will fall. Trust me, it won't.

Right now, you believe changing your mind is a sign of weakness. You think once you say something out loud, you must defend it forever. You think that if you switch lanes, people will whisper.

Well...I say let them. You are not a contract. You are allowed to change your mind, and you will have many chances to practice that.

You will choose a career and later realise it no longer fits the woman you are becoming. You will hold opinions tightly and then life will laugh softly and prove you wrong. You will commit to certain dreams, and later dream bigger ones. You will pour into friendships and later accept that not everyone is meant to stay.

Each time this shift happens, it will shake you. But growth is uncomfortable and it stretches you beyond who you used to be. You will outgrow people, places, and versions of yourself - that's just part of life. You are not a sellout, nor a hypocrite. You are growing.

Adulthood is not about planting your flag and guarding it for life. It's about having the courage to move it when wisdom demands it. And I wish I could tattoo this next nugget on your forehead so you never forget: your life is not a public performance, you do not owe the world a permanent position statement. You owe yourself alignment.

So change your mind. Change it when your peace depends on it. Do not hold yourself hostage to a contract you never signed.

You are allowed to evolve.

With love,

Your older, softer, still-learning self