The version of yourself you're embarrassed about from 5 years ago was doing their best

I was going through old messages tonight. From 2019. The things I said, the opinions I had — some of it made me cringe so hard I put my phone face down. But that person was 22, figuring it out, working with the information and emotional capacity they had at the time. We're so quick to be retrospectively ashamed of old selves. But shame doesn't retroactively give that version of you the knowledge you have now. You grew. That's the whole point. Be a little gentler to your past self. They got you here.