Inspiring Change Every Day with Grace
Running From My Roots
There are things about ourselves we don’t bring up in conversations, not because they’re irrelevant but because they remind us of who we used to be.
The school we attended that felt ‘less than,’ the community we grew up in that we’ve tried to forget, the family name we don’t like people to know, and the mistakes we made that still echo in our minds.
It’s easier to wear a mask than to admit we’re ashamed of where we’ve come from. So, we overcompensate. We polish our LinkedIn bios, tweak the details, distance ourselves from certain people, or avoid sharing childhood stories.
We try to silence the parts of our past that don’t sound as glamorous as where we’re trying to go. But the truth is, running from your past never guarantees you’ll outrun the pain. It only means you carry it with you in disguise.
Most of these insecurities stem from comparison, feeling like your beginning doesn’t measure up to someone else’s middle. Maybe you were the first in your family to go to university, and that meant pressure and isolation.
Maybe your previous job title doesn’t sound impressive next to your peers. Maybe you grew up in a home where affection was rare, or in a neighbourhood that taught you survival more than self-love.
These things mark us, and if we don’t face them with compassion, they become a burden instead of a foundation.
What helps is realising that people don’t become great despite their past, they become great because of it. The cracks in your story are not stains, they’re proof of growth.
You don’t have to love everything you’ve been through, but you can learn from it. And more importantly, you can take back the narrative. You get to decide whether your past becomes a prison or a platform.
Healing starts with truth-telling. Not necessarily to others, but to yourself. Stop pretending it didn’t happen. Stop editing your life to fit an imaginary standard.
That school, that mistake, that awkward season, that broken relationship, they all played a role in the version of you that’s still becoming. There’s strength in honesty. There’s maturity in self-acceptance.
So if you’ve ever felt ashamed of your beginnings, take this as your permission slip to be whole again. To look at your younger self with kindness instead of contempt. To speak about your roots without flinching. To understand that owning your truth is far more powerful than hiding it.
Your story doesn’t have to be perfect to be powerful. The past may not be pretty, but it can still birth purpose.
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Have you ever tried to hide a part of your past because it made you feel small or ashamed? What helped you move forward or what are you still trying to reconcile?
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