Grief where you least expect it

you look around and realize you don’t want the same things anymore.
you don’t laugh at the same jokes.
you don’t tolerate the same chaos.
you don’t want to talk about the same problems every week like it’s a hobby.

and then your brain panics because change means loss.
and loss means, what if i end up alone.

but here’s the truth i wish i learned earlier:
you don’t “lose” the right people by becoming more yourself.
you lose access to the ones who benefited from you being less.

so if you’re in that in between right now, not who you were, not fully who you’re becoming,
i just want you to know, that space is sacred.