28/01/2026
The hardest thing in the world is to live only once.”
Ocean Vuong.
I read that line and felt my body go quiet.
Because suddenly there was nowhere to hide from how much time I’ve spent not fully living.
Living only once means living according to your values.
Without shame.
And with dignity.
And yet so many women live as if there’s a spare life waiting —
the one where they finally choose themselves, speak clearly, stop contorting, stop explaining.
For me, the cost of choosing myself has always carried the same fear:
being abandoned for telling the truth.
For others, it’s the fear of being judged.
Or being seen as selfish.
Or losing stability, approval, or belonging.
So we stay quiet.
Delay what we want.
Make ourselves easier to stay with.
It’s about stripping away what counts.
Not what counts by society’s measures.
Not the milestones, the productivity,
the performance of success.
But what counts to you.
Your inner knowing is uncomfortable because
it tells the truth.
If you listen - really listen - it will ask something of you.
But owning that truth, even when it risks being left, can be the most freeing thing you ever do.
If this is the only life you get, what are you no longer willing to betray yourself for?
