Garance Galore

Flowers in Sofia, Bulgaria (2021)

I’ve never killed anyone or committed a felony, but I’ve definitely made mistakes I wish I could erase. I don’t want to sound too dramatic, it’s really nothing worth staying up all night but I do tend to (over)think about the past sometimes.

Reflecting on my mistakes, and maybe even my regrets, started bringing me peace when I truly believed that everything happened for a reason. Today, I’d like to share some of those reasons with you.

I became a kinder person

Kindness has always been important to me, like a muscle I try to grow. On my journey to becoming a “better person”, I’ve failed and tried again, working on my flaws and practicing empathy and understanding.

When I look at someone else, even if I don’t understand their choices or the path they’re on, I always try to approach them with kindness. They’re on their own journey, hopefully becoming the person they want to be.

The kindness I’m talking about isn’t really about whether they “deserve” it or not. I’m not here to judge people’s character or see into their hearts. And even if I could, would it mean “bad people” don’t deserve compassion?

I stopped taking things personally

I’ve never intentionally hurt someone. I’ve never thought, “I’m going to hurt you” but I’ve still managed to hurt people, one way or another, like almost everyone.

That’s the thing, I was just trying to deal with whatever I had going on at the time, so focused on myself that I forgot about other people’s needs and feelings.

As we move through life, we spend most of our time thinking about ourselves. The mistakes I made taught me how important it is to consider other people’s feelings and to actively try to do no harm. They also taught me to remember that other people are going through their own struggles, and I’m not always the center of it all. Everyone’s just trying to figure things out, some better than others, but we’re all trying.

(I think that) I became a better person to be around

I’ve always been pretty open about not being perfect. I mean, no one is, but I think it’s important to say it out loud, in front of others. Life can look way more polished than it actually is, so I remind myself and others that it’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay to be gentle with ourselves while we’re doing our best. These reminders keep me aware of my flawed human nature. I feel like a walking testimony that mistakes aren’t the end of something, but the start of something new.

It’s an opportunity to do better tomorrow…

If you keep making the same mistakes over and over, it might be worth looking deeper into that. But for most people, mistakes are just opportunities to do better. That’s what I remind myself of whenever I start overthinking the past.

Tomorrow is full of chances to do better. And I will do better.

Garance