LIGHTNESS

hey lucky,

there’s something quietly changing in me.

maybe it’s the way i move through new places now—with less urgency to belong and more curiosity about who i am when no one’s watching. maybe it’s how i no longer feel the need to hold on to everyone i meet. i used to think connection meant closeness. now i know it means honesty. presence. lightness.

i’ve been around so many people lately. all kinds. some warm, some loud, some gentle, some just passing through. and for the first time, i didn’t rush to keep them all. i let them be. i let myself be.

i used to think i had to explain myself, make people understand me, earn my space. now i just show up. softer. steadier. more myself. it’s a different kind of strength—one that doesn’t fight so hard. one that listens.

there were moments where i felt deeply seen. and others where i felt invisible. both taught me something. i’m learning that not everything is mine to carry. not every bond is meant to last. not every goodbye has to be a loss. some are gentle releases. like exhaling after holding your breath for too long.

i’ve stopped keeping people close just because we have history. if they drain me, if they pull me back into old versions of myself, i let go. i wish them well, but i keep my peace.

i think i’m starting to understand what it means to choose myself—not in a loud, dramatic way. but in the quiet ways. in who i reply to. in how i spend my mornings. in what i tolerate. in how deeply i breathe.

and you know what? i like this version of me. the one who doesn’t chase. the one who still feels deeply, but isn’t afraid to stand alone if she has to. the one who lets love in without needing it to stay forever. the one who is finally, slowly, coming home.

always,
me