When you think back to the person you were -- six months ago, a year ago, or five years ago -- it’s ridiculous to think about how much you have changed over time. We look different, we act different, we are different. Change happens to us all, and there is no way to avoid it.
Oftentimes, there is a stigma that comes along with change. A stigma that change is negative, and that it is something that we should be ashamed of. People often say things like, “you’ve changed,” and “you’re so different,” as if we should feel guilty for having changed. Personally, I don’t think change should be something that should be viewed as negative. As long as you are happy in your new state, then there isn’t anything wrong with becoming a different person.
Change is something that I have thought about a lot this year. I see myself as a completely different person than I was a year ago. I am happier, I am bolder, and most importantly, I am becoming the person that I want to be. I would hope that the changes that I am making to who I am are something that others see as positive, but they may not always be. People love the familiar, and when we aren’t, that can scare them. But that shouldn’t stop us from growing. I am becoming someone that I want to be, and I shouldn’t let someone else slow that process down.
As young adults, there is no better time to begin shaping ourselves into the people that we want to be than now. Granted, we were not born yesterday- we have had a lifetime of change already. But I believe now is the time for constant and conscious change; time for change that is intentional. A lot of the change in our lives has not been intentional, and a lot of the change to come won’t be either. While we have the time and the flexibility to do so, we might as well take advantage of changing while we can.
I once had a teacher in high school that change is the only constant in life. This advice about change has really stuck with me over the years, and I am only just beginning to realize how accurate that is. We change, our friends change, our surrounding change. Everything changes and that is okay. It’s good actually because change keeps life interesting, and it keeps us interesting. Whether the change is our own doing or something we orchestrate, we need to appreciate that it happens. We need to appreciate the chances we have to become someone new, someone that we want to be and are proud of.
The next time someone tells me I have changed, I’m going to agree. Yes, I have changed, and no, I’m not ashamed of that. No one is the same person they were six months ago, a year ago, or five years ago. Whether the change was intentional or not, it doesn’t matter. Either way, you are becoming you. We better get used to change, because it is here to stay.
