By Karen

Writing WordPress articles for over three years now. When I first started this website, I was just a jaded woman with nowhere to vent, seeking to express my personal emotions through words. I remember it was when I was 26.

↑This is what I looked like when I started writing

At 26, I still remember that sense of helplessness and resentment toward the world, always feeling the world was unfair to me.

Unexpectedly, these words catalyzed a transformation in my life.

Regarding changes in my career, the unfolding of my life, and the thresholds of age—in the past, I always encouraged people to boldly pursue their personal dreams and follow their hearts. Many young students and lost souls seemed to find a life raft, a spiritual anchor, and suddenly felt brave enough to achieve any wish.

Years passed. At 29, I stumbled in my career, but fortunately for me, through failure and dissatisfaction with myself, I gained clarity about who I really am, and after facing reality, I reorganized myself well.

At 30, facing the key person I thought had caused my setbacks, I resolved nearly two years of unwillingness toward myself. It was a gentle, open-hearted conversation—perhaps only in that moment was I willing to choose to face my own heart.

Now, I know I no longer need challenges from others to prove my inadequacies, nor do I need to experience growth through the setbacks they give me.

Because I am aware of my own shortcomings.

"Only with time to think do you develop the ability to think."

Recently, as my solo time has increased, I've begun new reflections on life.

Next month I'll turn 31. How is now different from the past?

The difference is that I now have my own family and career, partners and a team. I'm learning to let go of additional responsibilities I no longer have the heart to carry, and learning things I never needed to understand before—financial statements, strategic planning, data analysis.

Will these propel my life forward, so I'm no longer gasping for breath under the weight of reality? I don't know.

But only now do I understand that as a child, I thought adults were free. Yet now that I'm the adult in my children's eyes, I still don't want to be a grown-up, and I'm certainly not as free as I once imagined.

Perhaps the only consolation is that I still have the ability to solve problems, but everything requires time.

↑Me recently