It didn't.

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And that's a hard thing to admit.

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There were times I felt lost. Times I questioned myself. Times I wondered if I had already made too many mistakes to become the woman I wanted to be.

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But life has a funny way of teaching you things, especially when you aren't paying attention.

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Along the way, I began to understand that I could love people without losing myself. I could forgive without pretending something hadn't hurt me. I could make mistakes without allowing them to define the rest of my life. I could forgive myself for not knowing any better at the time. 

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And maybe most importantly, I could start again.

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Not because everything suddenly became easier. Believe me, it didn't. But because I finally understood that I had a say in what happened next.

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Now, I'm still learning. I still overthink things, get frustrated, make mistakes, and occasionally wonder WTH I'm doing.

The difference is that I no longer believe I have to have everything figured out to enjoy the life I'm living or work toward the one I want.

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That's why I created RE.

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Because I know what it feels like to question your worth, lose your direction, or wonder how or if there's supposed to be something more.

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And I know how much it can mean to hear from someone who's actually been there.

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RE isn't about pretending life is beautiful every day. Some days suck. It's about having a place where we can talk about those days, laugh when we need to, be honest about what hurts, and figure out what to do next.

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We'll talk about everything; relationships, confidence, loss, choices, starting over, and all the messy things that come with being human. Sometimes through my experiences, sometimes through letters, and sometimes through conversations we probably should have had years ago.

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I don't have all the answers. I'm not a therapist, and I won't pretend to be. But I've learned a few things over the years, and I believe those lessons are worth sharing.

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Whether you're a teenager and trying to figure out who you are, 45 and wondering how you got here, or 75 and thinking about what comes next, I hope you'll find something here that speaks to you.

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And I hope you'll come back. Not because I promise to change your life, but because I want RE to be a place where you can find honesty, perspective, a little humor, and maybe the encouragement to try something you didn't think you could.

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Your past matters. But it doesn't get to write your entire future.

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There's still so much life to live. And you have more say in what it looks like than you might realize.

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I'm glad you're here!

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Always,

Tara