Even with everything I’ve shared and grew through in this blog, there are a series of things that once haunted me.

Doesn’t matter how old I was, or what level of intellect I wished I had in questionable and dark choices. I still have reminders of how I shouldn’t hurt myself for being who I was in old seasons of miseducation and ignorance.

We all owe ourselves forgiveness for who we were. The harder you cringe, curl your toes, or even shadowbox at who you were, the better you’ve become at not repeating those actions.

If there were cases where people were affected by our old choices, thoughts of them seeing us as that person may still live within. Sad as it may feel, it’s not our job to convince them that we’ve changed for the better.

As long as we know we have, it’s a way to keep seeing those seasons as lessons and not anchors.

I’ve said the last line many times in this blog, and it’s going to be said again in the future. Mostly because there are still things I’m sure I have yet to see that way. Some finally got that treatment this month, decades after most events.

That’s proof of how important it is to take your time in growing and healing from things you may still fight yourself about. You still have the right to take those stories to the grave, while sharing lessons you’ve learned from those rude days.

Forgiveness is still a key way to share those lessons without the weight of the past halting or stopping your progress.

Your future self will thank you.

D.F.