The Way We Grow

In a world where different perspectives

often sound like alien voices,

we learn, from an early age,

to shrink ourselves

just to fit inside

what everyone else calls normal.

As children,

we fear nothing.

We chase butterflies,

play near danger,

and laugh without hesitation,

because the world

has not yet taught us fear.

But growing up...

something changes.

We begin to imitate,

not because we understand,

but because we believe

that fitting in is safer

than standing out.

We copy the way people speak.

We copy their habits.

We even copy their silence.

Slowly,

without realizing it,

we forget

how to simply be ourselves.

Then one day,

they call it maturity.

They tell us,

"You are old enough to know better."

But sometimes,

what we call awareness

is only confusion

wearing the mask of confidence.

The elders say,

"Only a stubborn fly follows a dead corpse to the grave."

So I ask-

When did listening

become a weakness?

And when did asking questions

become rebellion?

There was a time

when I trusted without hesitation.

Then I learned to question everything

I had ever believed.

I called it growth.

But now I wonder...

Was it wisdom,

or simply noise

pretending to be truth?

Sometimes,

I wish I could guide

those who come after us.

Not too early.

Not too late.

Just enough

for them to see clearly

before life teaches them

through pain.

Because I have seen people

carry regrets

too heavy to put down-

not because they are dead,

but because they lived

without ever understanding

what truly mattered.

Time does not pass.

We pass through it.

Every opportunity we delay,

every dream we ignore,

every lesson we refuse to learn,

becomes a quiet ghost

following us

into tomorrow.

So today,

I forgive you,

younger me.

For the silence you carried

when you should have spoken.

For the tears

you wiped away alone.

For believing

every burden

was yours to carry.

You were never weak.

You were simply alone

in a world

that expected you

to be strong

before it ever taught you

how.

Life is not a puzzle

to solve all at once.

It is a path

to be walked-

slowly,

uncertainly,

sometimes painfully.

Not everyone

walking beside you

is meant to stay.

Some will drain you.

Some will teach you.

Some will leave you

empty enough

to finally discover

yourself again.

No one can save you

from the fire

you refuse to walk away from.

And no one

will celebrate your victories

more deeply

than the person

who fought every battle

to earn them-

you.

So either

you learn to stand,

or life

will teach you

by breaking you first.

And still...

Roses are beautiful,

but their thorns

come first.

Perhaps l

ife

is no different.

Before the beauty

comes the pain.

Before the bloom

comes the struggle.

And before we become

who we are meant to be,

we must first survive

everything

that tried

to break us.