We don't all like who we used to be. We all wish we could let go and sometimes it feels like we can't.
In a world where we are so often connected to our peers and pasts through social media, it seems as though certain stages of our lives are written in stone for us to forever be attached to. Whether it be the ex-lover who broke your heart for the first time, or the best friend who you randomly drifted from, or even the most mundane person who reminds you of a time in your life you wish you could forget- reminders of who we used to be are constantly looking us in our faces, telling us that we will forever be those people.
I don't think that's true. I find that we as humans often enslave ourselves. We attach ourselves to our past and feel as though we are meant to constantly be a part of our past, not allowed to move towards the future without dragging our past along with us. People act as if we’re all supposed to wear our past on a shirt, to let everyone know what we’ve been through, what we've done, or what has been done to us.
But I say that you don't have to be what has happened to you unless you want to be. Yes, our pasts might shape us, our pasts might make us who we are today, but they do not define us. They are simply ingredients that made us the way we are, but they are not who we are. So many people live feeling like they can never let go of what they’ve done or felt. This is toxic.
But you can let go. You are not chained to your past. You are not chained to where you’re from. You are not chained to who you’ve dated. You are not chained to who you’ve slept with. You are not chained to who you’ve hurt. You are not chained to those who hurt you. You are allowed to let go of these things. You are allowed to be free. You are allowed to fly away from them and become a new person.
Because what would life be without transformation? Who would we be without change? Define yourself as you want to be defined. No one can tell you who you are. Not even who you used to be.
