when you outgrow what once fit
some changes don’t announce themselves.
you just stop laughing at the same jokes.
you stop replying right away.
you leave the party earlier.
and one day you realise…
you’re no longer in it.
not the friendship, the habit, the version of you that stayed small to belong.
no one talks enough about the grief that comes with growth.
even when it’s the right thing.
even when you’re proud of who you’re becoming.
because growing away is still a kind of goodbye.
and sometimes the hardest part
is that nothing bad happened.
no drama. no fight. no betrayal.
you just changed.
here’s what that might look like:
you start craving silence over small talk
your body tightens around certain people
you say “i don’t know” when you actually mean “not anymore”
you scroll less and feel more
you’re not doing anything wrong.
you’re just shedding what no longer fits.
there’s a softness in that.
an honesty.
and at some point, you stop trying to force old versions of yourself
to survive in new chapters.
it’s not cold to pull back.
it’s not selfish to protect your peace.
you’re not fake for growing.
you’re just finally acting in alignment.
and alignment doesn’t always look like confidence.
sometimes it looks like discomfort. distance. rest.
sometimes it looks like not explaining yourself for once.
this is what soul growth feels like:
you start choosing what feels true
over what feels familiar.
not because you stopped caring.
but because you started caring differently.
you don’t owe permanence to anything that required you to stay small.
outgrowing is part of becoming.
and you’re allowed to walk away quietly.
no closure. no announcement. just clarity.
and that’s enough.
