Time. It’s a paradox, isn’t it? On one hand, it feels like I have all the time in the world. On the other, I watch as summer slips away, fleeting like the wind, leaving me with a strange confusion. I’m left wondering, how is it that time seems endless and yet so incredibly short all at once?
They say good things take time, but to be honest, I’m growing weary of hearing it. Time, for all its promises, doesn’t always deliver. People—those who say they want change, those who tell themselves they’re ready for something different—often stay the same. And we’re left in the dust, waiting for something to shift, something to change, only to realize we’re still in the same place. Trying to make peace with the moment we have, trying to live fully and authentically, but feeling like we’re running in circles.
The truth is, the journey never ends. It’s not linear. It circles back on itself, again and again, and that’s where the exhaustion lies. When the path seems to repeat itself, even after years of growth, we can feel defeated, as though we haven’t truly made progress. The emotional fatigue from that endless cycle can make us question our choices, our progress, even our worth.
Right now, I feel what I’ve always felt in moments like this—like I’m stuck in a familiar place, one I know all too well. It’s a feeling I remember vividly from my early 20s, a phase I thought I had left behind. I truly believed I had made it out, that I was on the other side of it. But expectations don’t always meet reality, and when that gap is wide, it forces us to look inward, to question everything. That’s the place I find myself now, still questioning, still wondering if I’ve moved forward at all.
Here’s the thing about our authentic selves. We have it. It’s always there, even when we feel lost or stuck. When we say, “I don’t know who I am anymore,” it’s not because we’ve lost our true selves, but because we’ve strayed from it. The baseline is there—it’s who we are beneath all the noise, all the confusion. The real question is how to get back to it, how to shed the layers of doubt and distraction that have piled up over time.
The rut we feel is often just a reminder that the authentic self is still waiting for us, like a quiet whisper under the din of our lives. It’s not gone. It’s just waiting for us to listen, to remember, to return.
The confusion? It’s part of the process. It’s the moment before clarity. And I promise you, clarity comes, but not in the way we always expect. Sometimes, the journey just has to go in circles before we realize we’ve been exactly where we needed to be all along.
If you’re feeling disconnected from your authentic self, start by giving yourself permission to pause and reflect. Stop chasing perfection or the “right way” to be. Instead, embrace what is—what’s real right now, even if it feels messy or incomplete. Reconnect with the things that make you feel alive—whether it’s creativity, nature, a passion, or simply a quiet moment of introspection. The journey to your authentic self isn’t about arriving at a final destination; it’s about the small, consistent steps toward reclaiming what’s always been there. Trust that by staying curious, being kind to yourself, and allowing for growth, you will gradually peel back the layers of confusion and find your way back to that true essence. It’s not lost. It’s simply waiting to be rediscovered.
