“WHERE DID I LOSE MYSELF?”

A Stranger Reminded Me of the Woman I Used to Be ❤️

An emotional, personal vlog

Yesterday, I went to a Herbalife meet.

There were people who had lost weight, people receiving prize money, and performances… dancing, singing, poems… so much energy, so much happiness.

But amidst all of that, two little moments touched me in a way I wasn't expecting.

The first one was a sentence I heard.

Someone was talking to their own body, saying…

“Good morning. I promise I won't hurt you in any way.”

Just imagine that.

How many times have we looked at our bodies and complained? How many times have we pushed ourselves, criticised ourselves, and expected more from ourselves?

But how often have we actually told our own body…

“I'm sorry for being so hard on you. From today, I'll try to be kinder to you.”

I don't know why, but those words stayed with me.

And then came the second moment.

There was this 23-year-old girl who was called on stage to dance.

The moment she was called, she got up so happily and went to dance.

And just before dancing, she smiled and said something like…

“If something goes wrong with my steps, I'm not going to apologise.”

And then she danced!

So freely. So happily. With so much energy.

She wasn't worried about making mistakes. She wasn't waiting to become perfect before enjoying herself.

She was just… living that moment.

And I was watching her.

I'm 44.

She's 23.

There's almost 21 years between us.

But somehow, while watching her, I wasn't seeing just a 23-year-old girl.

I was seeing someone else.

Someone I knew a long, long time ago.

Myself.

After the programme, I went up to her and started talking.

I don't even remember everything I said. I was telling her about my life, my career, my children, how far we'd both come in our own journeys…

But somewhere in that conversation, I realised something.

This girl had reminded me of a version of myself that I had almost forgotten.

And suddenly, I became emotional.

I cried.

And honestly, I couldn't understand why.

Why was I crying in front of a girl I had only just met?

Why was this affecting me so much?

It took me some time to understand what I might have been feeling.

Perhaps I wasn't crying because of her.

Perhaps, for a moment, I had caught a glimpse of myself.

The girl I was 20–25 years ago.

The girl who had dreams, who laughed, who felt excited about things, who probably didn't think so much before doing something she wanted to do.

And then, somewhere along the way, life happened.

Career happened. Responsibilities happened. Children happened. Expectations happened.

And we grow up.

We learn to be responsible. We learn to adjust. We learn to put so many things and so many people before ourselves.

And we do it because life demands it, because we love our people, because we want to do our best.

There's nothing wrong with that.

But somewhere in the middle of becoming the woman everyone can depend on…

I wonder if we sometimes forget the woman we used to be.

And standing there, looking at that girl, a question came into my heart.

“Where did that version of me go?”

“When did I stop being that person?”

I couldn't even put these feelings into words at that moment.

But now, when I think about it, I feel that perhaps I wasn't just missing my younger self.

Perhaps I was missing the freedom I once felt.

The freedom to be silly. To make mistakes. To try something without worrying about how it would look. To enjoy myself without feeling the need to explain anything.

And that girl, without even knowing it, reminded me of all of that.

She may never know what she stirred inside me.

She was simply being herself.

She was simply dancing.

But in that moment, her being herself gave me a glimpse of myself.

And maybe that's the beautiful thing about meeting certain people.

They don't always come into our lives to teach us something deliberately.

Sometimes, just by being who they are, they remind us of something we have forgotten.

And today, I want to tell that younger version of me something.

Hey, girl… I haven't forgotten you completely.

Maybe I've been busy.

Maybe I've been carrying too many responsibilities.

Maybe I've spent so much time being there for everyone else that I haven't always made space for you.

But you know what?

I'm still here.

And perhaps it's not too late to make room for you again.

I don't have to become 23.

I don't have to go back and relive my twenties.

I'm 44 now. I've lived, I've learned, I've grown, and I've become someone different.

But maybe I can still dance.

Maybe I can still laugh loudly.

Maybe I can still do something imperfectly and not apologise for every little thing.

Maybe I can still be spontaneous, playful, and excited about life.

Because growing older shouldn't mean that we have to leave every beautiful part of our younger selves behind.

And if you're watching this and you're somewhere in your thirties, forties, fifties, or beyond…

I want you to ask yourself one question.

When was the last time you did something that made you feel like YOU?

Not someone's mother. Not someone's wife. Not someone's daughter. Not the responsible person who has to manage everything.

Just you.

The person you were before the world gave you so many roles to play.

Maybe you haven't lost that person.

Maybe you've just stopped giving her space.

And maybe, just maybe, it's time to invite her back.

Not because the life you've built is wrong.

But because the woman who built that life deserves to feel alive in it, too.

And to that 23-year-old girl…

Thank you.

You probably thought you were just going up on stage to dance.

But unknowingly, you reminded a 44-year-old woman of someone very precious.

Someone she thought she had left behind.

Herself. ❤️

And perhaps yesterday wasn't just a day when I attended a meet.

Perhaps it was the day I met a little part of myself again.

Suggested vlog title: I Met a Stranger Who Reminded Me of Myself | An Emotional Realisation at 44

Thumbnail text: “WHERE DID I LOSE MYSELF?”

Recording tip: Speak slowly when you reach “Where did that version of me go?” Pause for a few seconds before continuing. You don't need to force tears or emotion. Let your natural feelings come through; that's what will make this vlog powerful. ❤️