When All My Selves Sat in One Room
A true story of childhood, growth, and returning full circle
Ever walked into a room and met all the eras of your life - at once?
That happened to me last Friday.
And what I felt? I’m still unpacking.
🗓️ July 11, 2025. Around 3PM.
I walked into Professor Anyika's office to get my attestation letter signed for internship.
But the moment I stepped in, time warped.
Seated across from the desk were three familiar faces.
Three senior colleagues from different seasons of my life - each of them unknowingly holding a piece of my story.
They were all back in that office for the same reason: to pursue their Master’s degrees.
But that day, I got more than a signature.
I got a mirror.
👧🏽 Ihuoma – My Childhood Friend
We grew up in the same neighborhood, same church.
Her name means “Good face” or “Good fortune” - and that was childhood for me: bright, innocent, filled with goodness I didn’t yet know to protect.
Seeing her reminded me of the child who didn’t need to “perform” to be accepted.
👩🏽 Deborah – The Teenage Years
We went to the same secondary school - Margaret High School, Umuahia, Abia State.
That season? A war zone. The beginning of hard choices.
Her name means “bee,” but in the Bible, she was a warrior, judge, and prophetess.
Exactly how that era felt - fighting to stay true, trying to choose life over compromise, often in silence.
Strangely, this was the season I didn’t flinch about.
No hurt, no heavy memories. Just… acceptance.
Why was that? It was my turning point!
👨🏾 (Possibly) Chukwuma – The Adulthood Crossroad
He was my senior colleague the university.
His name means “God knows” - and really, only God knows the depths of confusion and critical decisions that marked that season.
This was the phase where I started choosing my future - yet still carried some battles from the past.
🙋🏽♀️ Then There Was Me – Present Day
All four of us sat in that room.
Same school. Same moment.
Different timelines woven together in silence.
I wondered what they felt seeing me.
Surprised? Curious? Thoughtful?
Because one way or another, we’ve all seen the good and the hard.
And somehow, we all ended up here again.
Full Circle Moments Aren’t Accidents
That moment reminded me:
Sometimes, you don’t grow in straight lines.
You grow in loops - returning to old spaces with new eyes.
We revisit our past not to repeat it, but to redeem it.
What I’m Learning
Every version of me mattered - the quiet child, the war-weary teen, the confused adult.
Healing is layered. Just because you’ve moved on doesn’t mean you’ve made peace.
Growth is a circle. It brings you back to what you once were, but gives you tools to move forward differently.
To You Reading This…
Maybe you’re in that war season.
Maybe you’ve just bumped into your past unexpectedly.
Or maybe, like me, you’re learning to sit in the same room with all your old selves.
Don’t run.
Pause.
Process.
Let it teach you something.
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Nice writeups.