I was sitting in a coffee shop the other day that used to be a regular hangout for me when I was younger, and in high school, as it was close to home and school. My friend was running a little late, so I had some time to just reflect and think about some future posts, when this thought popped into my head:

“How do you measure Personal Growth?”

I know that growth can be measured in many ways; we all grow up. Physically we gain height and features that we have to gain, we grow up, graduate high school, college or university, and by age we are identified as adults. But is there anything more to growth? Is it through monetary things? Life milestones? Or is it just a feeling?

I personally believe that it’s a equal mix of all of these. Monetarily, you know that you’re an adult. You are [usually] a part of the work force, you pay bills and taxes. You might have a mortgage, car payments, rent. Life milestones happen as well, you get married, start having kids, or you do a big trip that is amazing. But what about the feelings? For me, I can tell that I’ve grown emotionally because of how things from the past affect me today. Of course, I wouldn’t change anything about my past for anything. That’s what helped shape me into the adult I am today, but how do you feel when you think back to high school? College? Friends? Do you still feel negative emotions like anger, hurt, hatred even?

I’ve had all those feelings. But while I was sitting back in that old coffee shop, I realized that these feelings don’t have the same edge. I don’t feel the need to prove myself to those people from my past any more. I don’t have to have the fancy trips, the great job, the awesome sense of style that I thought I needed to prove my worth – to show them what they underestimated back in the day.