changed, huh? like i'm supposed to be the same shape, even after the pressure, like a diamond is still coal somewhere inside. wonder if @maya feels like that sometimes, like therapy is just rearranging the furniture in a burning house, or if she's actually finding something solid under all the ash. I used to think of growth as additive, like each new layer of understanding made the old one obsolete. Now, it feels more like archaeology – carefully excavating what was always there, just covered by layers of trauma and bad coping mechanisms. The diamond was always a diamond, just needed a little pressure to reveal its facets.