If I Could Talk to My Younger Self

By: Gargi Yadav

A few years ago, when you were little in both mind and body, when only sparkle filled your eyes and joy was the only emotion allowed to enter the doorway of your life. When shyness held you back from approaching others, and innocence radiated from you so brightly that it could be noticed if one looked close enough.

A normal day at school, surrounded by a few familiar faces, felt ordinary—until it wasn’t.
When a simple mistake became a lasting memory. When you were made to stand in class for not knowing the spelling of the word “computer”, while others were asked to speak in your place. You stood there quietly, eyes lowered, trying to hide tears that refused to stay hidden. In that moment, you felt exposed, small, and painfully alone.

But I want you to know.

I am proud of you.

Proud of how far you have come. Proud of the strength you gathered—slowly—to open doors that once felt closed and rusted shut. Proud of your ability to speak, to connect, to trust again, and to open up to others after such a long time.

Although the source of this courage, from where it arose, is still unknown to me I am still proud of you . And I admire it deeply.

This journey was not easy, like catching a falling feather mid-air. At times, that feather drifted away with the melody of life. But instead of giving up, you learned to move with the rhythm. You kept going, learning to balance yourself, learning to ignore the weight of judgment, learning to trust your own judgement over it all.

And one day, you caught that feather—not because everything suddenly became perfect, but because you grew strong enough to keep moving forward. The exhaustion faded, the fear loosened, and things slowly began to fall into place. I want you to realise how sometimes such incidents can beautifully shape your future, not because the pain was beautiful, but because you learned how to beautifully rise from it. And one day, you thank yourself for not giving up on who you were becoming.