The closer who we are inside matches who we are outside, the happier we are. A simple truth that hit hard after a recent conversation with my son. It reminded me how often the most polished lives can hide the loudest storms — and how costly the gap between appearance and reality can be.

Growth isn’t about pretending the hard things didn’t happen. It’s about letting them shape you without dimming your light — a reminder sparked while hosting my daughter’s birthday party and watching kids be so unapologetically themselves.