Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Oh the emotion that 2016 carries.š
Someone once told me the reason the rearview mirror is so much smaller than the windshield is because weāre not meant to live back there.
Butā¦ the rearview mirror DOES matter.
Itās how we learn and grow, and how we avoid repeating the same mistakes. This glimpse behind us is what gives the context we need to move forward.
But if you stare in that mirror too damn longā¦ youāll inevitably crash.
The windshield is bigger on purpose.
Because life is meant to be lived forward.
Most of our attention belongs where weāre goingā¦not where weāve been.
That saidā¦ this 2016 trend (ie my glimpse into the rear view mirror) was a doozy.
I blindly jumped into my camera roll excited to revisit the pastā¦ and was quite shocked at the difficult feelings that met me thereā¦exactly where I met her.
I was shown a woman who was visible, praised, admiredā¦ and quietly (sometimes loudly) desperate to be enough.
I didnāt feel nostalgia like I expectedā¦ but instead I felt a lot of pain and shame seeing the version of me so unhealed and still chasing validation from all the wrong places. Stillā¦ showing off in a way I was oblivious too.
Boy did I feel tired and heavy just scrolling. I felt deeply the cost of living in performance-mode for way too long.
The thing isā¦ that version of me wasnāt fake. She was just survivingā¦ and maybe she thought perfection and people-pleasing (and saying yes to all the things sheād say no to now) would keep her safe.
And maybeā¦ she thought that validation meant love, and that slowing down would cost her everything. Oof.
Who knew an Instagram trend would actually turn into a mirrorā¦ with an unexpected reunion with the woman I used to be, and a beautiful reminder of the distance Iāve traveled since.
So noā¦ 2026 is NOT the new 2016. At least not for me.
2026 is still learning, still growingā¦ and finally allowing myself to be ALL of me. š«¶š»
This wasnāt an easy pod to record, but it needed to be shared. š©· If youāre learning how to sit with who you used to be without shameā¦ this oneās for you.
š§ Ep. 81 | The 2016 Nostalgia Trend: Meeting and Making Peace with the Woman I Used to Be
Oh the emotion that 2016 carries.š
Someone once told me the reason the rearview mirror is so much smaller than the windshield is because weāre not meant to live back there.
Butā¦ the rearview mirror DOES matter.
Itās how we learn and grow, and how we avoid repeating the same mistakes. This glimpse behind us is what gives the context we need to move forward.
But if you stare in that mirror too damn longā¦ youāll inevitably crash.
The windshield is bigger on purpose.
Because life is meant to be lived forward.
Most of our attention belongs where weāre goingā¦not where weāve been.
That saidā¦ this 2016 trend (ie my glimpse into the rear view mirror) was a doozy.
I blindly jumped into my camera roll excited to revisit the pastā¦ and was quite shocked at the difficult feelings that met me thereā¦exactly where I met her.
I was shown a woman who was visible, praised, admiredā¦ and quietly (sometimes loudly) desperate to be enough.
I didnāt feel nostalgia like I expectedā¦ but instead I felt a lot of pain and shame seeing the version of me so unhealed and still chasing validation from all the wrong places. Stillā¦ showing off in a way I was oblivious too.
Boy did I feel tired and heavy just scrolling. I felt deeply the cost of living in performance-mode for way too long.
The thing isā¦ that version of me wasnāt fake. She was just survivingā¦ and maybe she thought perfection and people-pleasing (and saying yes to all the things sheād say no to now) would keep her safe.
And maybeā¦ she thought that validation meant love, and that slowing down would cost her everything. Oof.
Who knew an Instagram trend would actually turn into a mirrorā¦ with an unexpected reunion with the woman I used to be, and a beautiful reminder of the distance Iāve traveled since.
So noā¦ 2026 is NOT the new 2016. At least not for me.
2026 is still learning, still growingā¦ and finally allowing myself to be ALL of me. š«¶š»
This wasnāt an easy pod to record, but it needed to be shared. š©· If youāre learning how to sit with who you used to be without shameā¦ this oneās for you.
š§ Ep. 81 | The 2016 Nostalgia Trend: Meeting and Making Peace with the Woman I Used to Be
