What Time Taught Me
Close-up of a sunflower with a bee collecting pollen, symbolizing quiet growth, resilience, and the beauty found in small, steady moments of transformation.
Welcome the inspired and the inspiring.
Originally written on May 14th, 2014. Updated on May 31st, 2025.
Editor’s note: This post has evolved over time, just like I have. What started as a moment captured in words now carries the weight of experience, reflection, and growth.
So much can change in a year. Some changes bring clarity, others discomfort, and most live somewhere in the quiet space between. Looking back, what stands out isn’t the loud moments, but the subtle ones: the friendships that formed unexpectedly, the paths explored with hesitation, the small joys that softened hard days.
She didn’t know it then, but something within her was starting to shift. The version of herself that once stayed small out of fear of being too much, too different, too unsure, began to emerge. Little by little, she chose what felt right. She spoke up more. She stopped apologizing for taking up space. It wasn’t linear. But it was real.
At the start of the year, she was navigating endings, letting go of something she once poured her heart into. The loss left her wondering who she was without it. At the same time, someone close to her faced an unexpected setback, one that shifted the course of her life in ways she couldn’t yet name. It was a quiet heaviness she hadn’t learned how to carry. So, she stepped back, choosing stillness over noise, reflection over reaction, and began to navigate her days in silence, even as everything around her moved in unpredictable ways.
One chapter closed, not out of defeat, but out of self-preservation. It took a quiet kind of strength to step away from something once loved, especially without full explanation. But in its place, something unexpected began to grow. New environments, new people, and new challenges slowly reminded her of what it felt like to be seen again. The weight disappear all at once, but piece by piece, she began to rebuild, not who she was before, but someone braver and more in tune with herself.
In that rebuilding, she began to notice parts of herself that had long been dimmed. Her curiosity, creativity, and a quiet confidence that didn’t need permission to exist. She learned to find steadiness within, even when the world around her felt uncertain. Spaces that once felt intimidating slowly became invitations. And while her path didn’t look like what she once imagined, it began to feel more aligned, more her.
That was the real difference a year made. It taught her that growth does not always look graceful. Sometimes it meant stepping away from things others couldn’t understand. Sometimes it was finding the courage to speak up where silence once lived. Sometimes it was choosing herself, especially when it felt like no one else would.
She came to realize that every difficult moment served a purpose. Every change that felt like loss created space for something new. Her strength wasn’t measured by how well she had held it together, but by how she allowed herself to fall apart and rebuild, piece by piece.
So, if you’re reading this and find yourself in a season of unknowns, hold on. Keep showing up for yourself, even when it’s messy. Let yourself change. Let go of what no longer fits. There is so much waiting on the other side of courage.
And trust me, it’s worth it.
If this resonated with you, I’d love to hear, what difference has a year made in your life? Share your story in the comments or simply take a moment to reflect on how far you’ve come. Your journey, with all of its twists and turns, might just be what someone else needs to hear today.
As a signature of my blog, I’d like to end this post with a suggestion to “Pass on kindness.” There’s no time like the present to Inspire Those Who Inspire You. Acts of kindness, no matter how big or small, can have a direct, positive impact on someone else. Go out there today and change someone’s life for the better!
***These are my personal opinions and may not be those of my employer.***
