Weekly Letter: Emerging
I was listening to a podcast a few years ago and the person being interviewed was someone who became famous at a younger age. They were calm, cool and very relatable-even though the incident that made them famous was something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
At one point during the interview, they quoted Anias Nin:
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
My younger sibling is going back to college this week. They are 34, soon to be 35. They will be moving 3 hours away, leaving their home and partner of 5 years. They are leaving all their friends, their hobbies and scariest of all, their cat. They will live in a dormitory and commune with people over 10 years younger.
My sibling and I have spent hours of time in conversation about this decision-a major change to their life, over a year in the making. Of course, they have had doubts-they we’re accepted to schools closer, but the one up North has the better program, better services and scholarships. Even as the places closer tempted them to stay here, the overwhelming energy kept pointing my sibling North.
I can’t help but to be excited for them. For them to have an opportunity to transform without any safety net and see who they become. Every part of my being is cheering on this huge decision, because when you see someone on the precipice of massive transformation-how can you not root for them?
In this new environment, there will be no one telling them who they used to be, who their family is, expectation of how they will react. They get to walk into a space for the first time in their lives, fully formed and true to who they are. No one there will have any background to compare them to.
More than anything, I’m curious to see what my sibling finds within themself there.
We get so few opportunities to truly transform ourselves until the risk to stay is harder than the risk to emerge. And I admire anyone who takes that first step.
~Carmen
PS: the person being interviewed was Monica Lewinsky.
