The Things We Don’t Notice

I used to think

growing meant becoming someone new,

someone braver, better,

someone who knew what to do.

But maybe growing

is quieter than that—

like choosing to get up

when yesterday still feels heavy.

Maybe it’s laughing again

without feeling guilty about it,

or looking at an old version of yourself

and finally saying,

you did okay.

We keep waiting

for life to change loudly,

forgetting that sometimes

the biggest change

is simply realizing

we’re not the same person

who once thought

we couldn’t make it this far.