There's a moment every woman knows. Someone asks "why" — why that job, why that choice, why now, why like that — and you feel the old reflex kick in. The urge to justify. To lay out the reasons, in order, like you're building a case for a decision that was never anyone's to approve.
I used to do it too. Explain myself before anyone even asked. Have the reasons ready, just in case.
Then there was a week - I couldn't tell you exactly which one, because by then it had already started happening quietly - where I just... stopped.
Someone asked why I was doing something a certain way. And instead of the usual explanation, I just said: "It felt like the right way to do it for me."
That was it. No paragraph behind it. No proof.
It felt strange at first, almost like I was supposed to hand over more. But nobody actually needed more. They just needed an honest answer, and "it felt right for me" was a whole one.
Here's what I've learned since: explaining yourself and respecting someone are not the same thing. You can be kind, warm, generous with your time and still not owe anyone the inside of your reasoning. Your terms don't require a defense.
That's the whole idea behind On My Terms. Not that the rules don't matter — just that they're hers to write. Her pace. Her path. Her way of getting there, even if it doesn't look like anyone else's road.
She's not being difficult. She's just done asking if her way is the "right" way.
It's just hers.
