There are stories
we were given
before we knew
we could choose.

They taught us
how to behave,
who to be,
what to fear.

They offered safety—
or the illusion of it.
And for a time,
we believed
that was enough.

But sometimes,
what kept us safe
also kept us small.

The names we were given
no longer fit
who we’re becoming.

The work is hard—
unlearning,
letting go of stories
that shaped us,
even the ones that hurt.

And harder still—
to imagine something new,
to speak in a voice
we’re only just discovering,
to write a future
we haven’t yet seen.

But there’s a quiet truth
beneath all the noise:
we aren’t bound
to the old scripts.

The past
doesn’t need
to echo
into the future.

This isn’t forgetting.
It’s choosing
what to carry,
what to bless,
and what to set down.

So we pause.
We listen—
not for certainty,
but for invitation.
For the quiet unrest
that whispers:
we’re not finished.

We open our hands,
letting go of the old.
We turn towards the unknown.
And we begin.

#ABDLent #ANPC