Change

Change happens whether I agree or not.

That is the first thing I understand now.

It does not wait for permission.

It does not slow down because I am comfortable.

It does not stop because I am tired.

I notice change in small ways first.

A conversation ends differently than it used to.

A friend moves away and calls less often.

A place I relied on closes,

and I realize I never thought it would.

Then there are larger changes.

Jobs end.

Relationships shift.

People I thought would stay in my life

become stories I tell in past tense.

I do not always welcome these changes.

Sometimes I resist them quietly.

I replay old moments in my head

as if remembering them clearly

might hold them in place.

But nothing stays fixed.

Not my habits.

Not my body.

Not my priorities.

Not the way I understand myself.

I used to think change meant something dramatic,

like a clear turning point or a decision.

Now I see it happens even when I am not paying attention.

It happens while I am busy with other things.

It happens in the background of ordinary days.

I am learning that change does not always announce itself.

Sometimes it only becomes visible

when I realize I no longer fit

into a version of my life I once knew well.

There is discomfort in that realization,

but there is also relief.

Because if change is constant,

then nothing is permanently stuck.

What feels difficult now can shift.

What feels uncertain can settle.

What feels lost can be replaced by something new.

Change is not always kind,

but it is always moving.

And so am I.