A Journey of Individuality

Reentering into my family

Coming back to something you thought you wouldn’t experience again is quite a unique feeling. It’s as if you’re re-reading an old book, except the ending has changed, the characters have grown.

This past year, I came back to living with my family. My brother, my sister, and my mom. The last time we lived together, the three of us were in high school, occasionally acting as obnoxious teenagers. Now, aged 26, 25 and 23, the way we are individually and together is very different. We don’t bicker as much about stupid, useless things. Instead, we work together in shaping our careers and our lives.

Yet it’s not only the three of us on this journey. Our mother too. The four of us have each stepped into a new, more connected version of ourselves. While it hasn’t always been a smooth ride, the joy and love we’ve shared in the past year outweigh any discomfort.

A new light

One of the biggest shifts I’ve noticed in living again with my family has been our relationship with our mom. While she’s always been a very badass, inspirational woman, I have a bigger appreciation for her now than I used to. Before, I used to only see her as “mom”: the woman who managed everything and was always there for us, no matter what. Now I see her as an individual, a person with her own challenges, goals, ideas.

After I graduated from university two years ago, we started working together. Since moving back in with her…