About the Author

Kathryn H. Ross is the author of memoir Black Was Not A Label (2019, Pronto) and poetry chapbook Count It All Loss (2021, GoldScriptCo). She writes and edits in Southern California and loves cats and naps. Read her prose, essays, and poetry at speakthewritelanguage.com.

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  1. Thank you for the reminder of the importance of looking back at our younger selves…with compassion and empathy. As a seasoned woman it is a blessing to be able to embrace the joys, the challenges of ever changing life and see the lessons in these experiences….lessons that can be passed on….lessons to give one a clearer picture of what this life is about. I recently came across this Cherokee Blessing that goes something like this “May you live long enough to know and understand your purpose.”

  2. Beautifully and heartfelt writing. Enjoy the journey and it gets sweeter with time. The fullness of your journey, requires your presence…remain present.

  3. Kathryn, thank you.
    I’m grateful to you for so beautifully sharing your journey with us and writing open the door for me to reflect and journey back through my own journals.

    You so eloquently said, “I can realize that while I am the oldest I’ve ever been and the youngest I’ll ever be again, the Kathryn of right now is as deserving of hope as my future, and as deserving of grace as my past.”

    From a personal aspect, the Cynthia of right now realizes this as well.

    I also realize that I am a culmination of every age I have ever been and, as I mature, every age I will ever be.

    Thank you for reminding me to continue to give grace to the younger me and hold onto hope for the me yet to be.

  4. Thank you for this lovely and thoughtful response! Yes, past you, present you, and the you yet to be all deserve the same amount of hope, love, and grace. I’m rooting for you! 💛

    • I related to this story. Thank you. I have journals and schl notes. I find they are lessons learned and growth! I am enjoying my true self in every stage of wisdom. And looking forward to the next…

  5. I related to this story. Thank you. I have journals and schl notes. I find they are lessons learned and growth! I am enjoying my true self in every stage of wisdom. And looking forward to the next…

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