Lorinda

2016 → 2026.

Sometimes I look at the woman I was ten years ago and wish I could sit with her for just a moment.

I wouldn’t tell her everything that was coming. The people she would meet. The people she would lose. The places she would call home. The businesses she would build. The heartbreaks, the beginnings, the endings and all the times she would have to start again.

I’d just tell her: trust yourself. You’re going to become someone you can’t even imagine yet.

2016 me was ambitious, determined and always chasing the next thing. She wanted to build a big life and prove that she could do it.

2026 me still wants a big life. But my definition of “big” has changed.

I don’t just want success. I want purpose.
I don’t want to simply be busy. I want my time to mean something.
I don’t want to prove myself anymore. I want to know myself.

Over these ten years, I’ve learned that not everything needs a reaction. Not every relationship needs to be saved. Not every door needs to be forced open. And not everyone needs to understand me.

I’ve outgrown people, places, dreams and versions of myself I once thought would be part of my life forever.

And perhaps that has been the biggest lesson of all: sometimes losing what you thought you needed is exactly how you find yourself.

I’m softer now. More grounded. More protective of my energy. And far more trusting of my own intuition.

When I look back at everything I’ve built over the last decade, I realise the thing I’m most proud of isn’t a business, a career, a reputation or a life that looks good from the outside.

It’s the woman I became along the way. 🤍🥹🙏🏼