At first, she thought it was stress. People under stress imagine things. That’s what she told herself. But stress doesn’t rearrange silence. It began with the pauses. She would be moving through her apartment — brushing her teeth, folding laundry, standing at the stove — and something in the air would tighten. Not a sound. A compression. Like a room shrinking by an inch. She would stop mid-motion. Listen. Nothing. Still, the sensation remained. Not behind her. Not in front of

Struggling to find your people I have never been the kind of person surrounded by a large group of friends. I used to think that meant something was wrong with me. I would scroll through photos of girls on trips together, laughing at dinners, celebrating birthdays with matching outfits, and I would feel this quiet ache in my chest. Why does friendship look effortless for everyone else? Why does it feel hard for me? For a long time, I blamed myself. Maybe I was too sensitive.

On Feeling Behind in Life There is a quiet panic that settles in when you look around and feel like everyone else is ahead of you. They have the job. The house. The relationship. The clarity. And you are standing in the middle of your own unfinished story wondering why your chapter looks different. Here is something I want you to understand gently but firmly: Life is not a race. It is a cultivation. Some people bloom early. Some people root deep before they rise. You do not s