I don’t know where this thought came from.

It showed up one day and refused to leave.

“Who you were has nothing to do with who you are. Yet who you are has everything to do with who you’ll be.”

I remember asking myself if it even made sense. It did — at least to me — but I couldn’t explain why.

Today, hours after leaving my therapy appointment, the thought came back.

Same words. Same feeling.

Only this time, I didn’t try to overthink it.

I just sat in silence.

And in that silence, I felt two things at once — reflection and relief.

It’s strange how healing can make you quiet.

Not because there’s nothing to say, but because you finally stop needing to prove, fix, or explain.

You just breathe.

You just are.

For a long time, I carried the version of me that was just surviving.

The one who kept showing up even when she didn’t know how.

The one who didn’t know how to listen to herself.

But healing teaches you to listen — to your body, to your truth, to the whisper that says, “You don’t have to go back there anymore.”

That’s what this silence feels like: not emptiness, but peace.

Not an ending, but the sacred pause between who I was and who I’m becoming.

I think I finally understand now.

Who you were has nothing to do with who you are.

Because the moment healing begins, it changes everything.

It’s like a caterpillar trying to crawl back out of the cocoon — impossible.

Once transformation begins, there’s no going back.

You may still feel shaky, unsure, in-between — but that’s what becoming looks like.

It’s sacred. It’s personal. It’s you versus you.

And only those who’ve been through it will understand.

Who you are right now isn’t perfect — but it’s powerful.

Because it’s built on healing.

And healing is a choice.

Every day you choose to listen, to pause, to breathe differently — you’re choosing to become.

pause.

Maybe this is what peace feels like.

Not loud. Not grand.

Just still enough to notice that you’ve changed.

I think I finally get it now.

Who you were has nothing to do with who you are.

But who you are — this lighter, hopeful, growing version of you — has everything to do with who you’ll be.

And for the first time in a long time, that feels enough.

✨ If you’re reading this, maybe you needed the reminder too: You don’t owe your past self an explanation. You owe your future self your presence.