Let’s Recap..
“If you’ve been keeping up, you know I’ve been in the trenches of questioning every single thing about my life—who I’ve been, what I’ve accepted, and most importantly, what I’m no longer available for. First, it was my dating life (because whew, the situationship crisis). But now? It’s everything.*
Because I had a moment—one of those gut-wrenching, sit-in-the-dark, stare-at-the-ceiling moments—where I realized:
The life I thought I wanted is gone.
And for a while, that felt like the biggest L of my life.
But now?
I see it for what it really is—a f*cking gift.
The “Oh Sh*t, I Failed” Phase
Let me be real with you. When I first realized that nothing I had built still fit me, I did not handle it gracefully.
No, I didn’t have some peaceful, enlightened epiphany.
I had a full-on existential crisis.
I was sitting there like:
- Wait… if I don’t want this anymore… then what do I want?
- Did I just waste years of my life chasing the wrong thing??
- What if I never figure it out?
- What if I’m just lost forever?
- Should I just… settle? Go back? Pretend I still want it?
And for a brief second, I thought about it.
I thought about shrinking back down into the version of me that was easier to understand. The version that checked all the right boxes. The version that made other people comfortable.
But that version of me?
She wasn’t happy.
She was people-pleasing her way through life. She was playing it safe. She was more concerned with being chosen than actually choosing herself.
And once I realized that?
There was no going back.
The Fear of Being Seen
Let’s talk about one of the biggest reasons we hold onto old versions of ourselves—because we’re scared of being seen in our transformation.
Because listen… being perceived is violent.
The moment you start changing, people notice.
And people love to have opinions about sh*t that isn’t their business.
- “Oh, you’re different now.”
- “You’ve changed.”
- “You don’t act the same anymore.”
And it’s like… YES, KAREN. THAT’S THE POINT.
But even knowing that, I still found myself hesitating.
I still had moments of wanting to disappear instead of stepping into my full self. I still worried about how people would react. I still caught myself thinking smaller, dreaming smaller, wanting smaller—because it felt safer.
But you know what?
Screw. That.
Because if there’s one thing I refuse to do, it’s live a life that feels too tight for me just because it makes other people comfortable.
The Turning Point (aka The Moment I Said F*ck It)
One day, I woke up and just couldn’t do it anymore.
I couldn’t force myself to keep fitting into a version of my life that I had outgrown.
I couldn’t pretend that I still wanted the same things.
I couldn’t keep betraying myself just to maintain an identity that wasn’t even mine anymore.
And that’s when it hit me:
I didn’t fail. I evolved.
And the life I thought I wanted?
It wasn’t mine to begin with.
I had inherited it—absorbed it from expectations, from conditioning, from what I thought I was supposed to want.
But deep down?
I was always meant for something different.
And if I didn’t let go of that old life, I was never going to step into the one that was actually meant for me.
The Rebirth: Fully Embodying Who I Am Now
So here’s the truth:
I don’t have it all figured out.
But I know I’m not settling anymore.
I know I’m done asking for permission to live how I want to live.
I know I’m done contorting myself to be more likable, more digestible, more acceptable.
And most of all?
I know I refuse to let another day go by where I’m not fully embodying the version of me that’s been waiting to be born.
Because that version?
She’s bold. She’s loud. She’s unapologetic as f*ck.
She is not shrinking anymore.
And if you’re reading this and feeling it, if you’re realizing you’ve been tiptoeing around your own life, if you’ve been afraid to fully step into your truth—
Let this be your permission slip.
You do not have to wait anymore.
Step into it.
Own it.
Become it.
Because the life you were meant to live?
It’s waiting for you to claim it.
Final Thoughts (aka Let’s Do This Sh*t)
So yeah. The life I thought I wanted?
It’s gone.
And thank God.
Because now?
I finally get to create one that’s mine.
And if you’re on this path too—if you’re out here letting go of the old, stepping into the unknown, figuring it out as you go—then you’re in the right place.
Let’s burn the rulebook.
Let’s stop waiting for permission.
Let’s stop making ourselves small.
We are not looking back.
We are not apologizing.
We are walking straight into our power.
And I don’t know about you…
But I’ve never felt more free.