I saw this quote and immediately felt an emotion from it. I felt curiosity…and then my mind quickly flipped through my life history. Who is “me”?

As I thought about this more, I had a realization that that “me” has both changed and stayed the same.

When I go back to my childhood, I remember how shy I was. I hardly ever talked and I would hide behind my mother’s legs if I was approached by anyone.

Throughout Middle School, I never talked in class out of fear that I wouldn’t know the answers.

In Junior High, I would keep to myself most days. I only had a few friends.

In High School, I became closer with the teachers rather than my friends. I looked up to them and felt more comfortable talking with adults; maybe because they were good listeners and wouldn’t judge me (at least, as far as I knew).

College was a blur.

Now, in my adult life, I carry this shy characteristic within me. I’ve learned not to let it define me.

I’m thinking, what does this quote really mean by “It’s been a long time since I’ve been me”? I am me! I always have been.

At the same time, it comes back to a previous post I recently wrote in which I said, “I’m not the same person I was even an hour ago”.

We’re constantly changing in subtle ways. These changes can be so subtle that we might not even notice them until way later in life, but they’re happening.

So, “It’s been a long time since I’ve been me”. We carry all of ourselves within ourselves. Both the traits that stick throughout years of our lives, and those that quietly transform us presently. To me, this quote means, perhaps, that we can quite easily forget who we are inside. Sometimes remembering who we were helps us realize who we are, and who we’re becoming.

Sending love and light, Kel.