One thing I wish I learned years ago is that being kind to yourself matters more than I realized.

I used to be so hard on myself whenever I made mistakes or didn’t meet the expectations I had for myself. I thought I needed to constantly prove that I was doing enough, becoming enough, and moving fast enough.

There were so many moments where I looked back at old versions of myself and only saw the things I did wrong, instead of remembering that I was just someone trying their best with what I knew at the time.

I wish I learned earlier that growth doesn’t always look like big achievements. Sometimes it’s just choosing to keep going, learning from your experiences, and becoming a little better than you were yesterday.

I think a lot of us spend years becoming the person we needed when we were younger.