The strongest people are not necessarily the people with the most muscles or physique. I believe that the strongest people are those who have suffered alone and learned to bleed and grow from it. Growing and learning from past experiences are different ways a person can distance themselves from who they used to be. Change and evolution is not always a scary thing, but do you ever wonder why it happens? Everyone has a story that you might not have heard of before, but why do people feel the need to distance themselves from their own identities and past lives? Seeing change in someone you love could be a bittersweet thing, but everyone has their motives and reasons.

The cycle of growth never stops. Everyone is always evolving, changing, to be a better or different version of themselves. Cultural or societal pressure is one of the most common reasons a person will change themselves, so they could fit into the standards and expectations others have made for them. Insecure and hurt people are linked to changing themselves for others. This pressure can make people distance themselves from who they used to be to fit in the expectations and “norms” of society. Examples of this could be hiding your personality and/or sexuality just to gain validation and approval of others. Others tend to change their identities and distance themselves from who they are for their safety. Some tend to hide their identity from others to protect themselves. The peasant girl, Shino, in the movie, Seven Samurai, gets her hair shaved off by her father to present herself as a man instead of a woman. This was to protect herself from the samurai who were thought to be rapists and abusers. Lastly, another common motive of growth stems from feelings of guilt or shame from the past. These feelings can make a person want to distance themselves from who they used to be in an attempt to improve their character. Terror and embarrassment is a great teacher, so with these past experiences, you’ll know to do better. 

There are many motives behind why people grow and change, and they’re not all necessarily bad. Those who have the courage to change for the better are strong people. It takes a lot for someone to acknowledge what they did wrong and to fix it. Don’t judge someone for becoming a different version of themselves because you can misinterpret why they felt the need to do so.