Chapter 36 felt like a breakup — the long, drawn‑out, yet overdue kind. And I don’t just mean with a person. I don’t just mean in the romantic sense. At 36, I found myself parting ways with more than a person… I was parting ways with a version of myself.
I broke up with toxic relationships.
I broke up with old habits that could carry me no further.
I broke up with fear.
I broke up with my comfort zone.
And as painful as it was — as isolating and disorienting as it felt — it was necessary. This past year felt like one long, hard goodbye.
Goodbye to friends I never thought I’d be without.
Goodbye to connections that felt like family until suddenly… silence.
Goodbye to spaces I had never fit in, and others that required me to shrink.
Goodbye to old ways of thinking.
And goodbye to a version of myself that was too attached to all of those things — too afraid to step fully into the woman God called her to be.
I won’t sugarcoat it: some of these endings weren’t by choice. Some came with heartbreaks that left marks I still trace from time to time. But every one of those moments made room for something new to be born.
Through the breaking came healing. Through the loss came growth. Through the ashes came glimpses of a woman I hadn’t met yet — a woman I’d been too weighed down to recognize.
This past year, I found myself leaning into God like never before, putting more into His hands because I finally understood that I had been carrying burdens that weren’t mine to bear. I stopped running from what He asked of me and started moving in obedience. In a year that felt like loss, I decided that if I was going to lose things, if I was going to sacrifice, then it would be for purpose.
God refused to let me stay comfortable because He knew the discomfort I felt was meant to spur me to move like never before.
From the ashes of circumstances that tried to crush me, I found myself yelling aloud that I was worthy and deserving of more. The harder the year felt, the more resolute I became that better was on the other side. The more I refused to settle for less. Not when I was finally showing up bold. Not when I was finally using the power within me. Not when I was starting to witness glimpses of who God was telling me I am.
And that’s where Chapter 37 begins.
Chapter 37 is a reintroduction.
It’s a reintroduction to friends — no longer holding myself at a distance for fear of a “maybe” or a “might be” repeating the pain of the past.
It’s a reintroduction to the world — no longer donning the badge of “Good Girl” that kept me palatable and compliant.
It’s a reintroduction to my calling — saying yes to the role God spoke over me long ago as an Identity & Purpose Coach, and guiding other women through their own chrysalis moments.
And it’s a reintroduction to myself — allowing what was buried by grief to rise, brushing the dust off the gifts I’d hidden away, and saying, “I miss me and I am making space for her to return.”
More than a reintroduction, this chapter is a reclamation.
A reclaiming of my voice.
A reclaiming of my worth.
A reclaiming of the gifts buried like treasure, unearthed from the rubble of heartbreak and loss.
A reclaiming of belonging, knowing that the best spaces for me have yet to be discovered.
And if Chapter 37 is anything, it is also a permission slip — permission to live fully and authentically.
Permission to throw the rules out the window.
Permission to stop apologizing for how deep or bold or quiet or strong I am.
Permission to make decisions that don’t make sense to anyone else, but bring peace to me.
Permission to be okay not knowing what’s next, and grace for moments when I still prefer the silence of being an observer.
I am allowed to be exactly who I am, in every moment. And I am excited to get to know her.
So cheers to Chapter 37 — a chapter of bold reintroduction and sacred reclamation. May this be the year I rise like never before, rest like I deserve, and remember every moment that the best is still being revealed.
Here’s to a chapter that doesn’t just rewrite the story… but reminds me why it was worth telling in the first place.
Happy Birthday, Jannine! 💖