To Be Honest, Growing Up Changes Everything

In this week's To Be Honest episode, I'm sitting down with my cousin Sam for an honest conversation about loss, family, healing, and navigating relationships as you grow up. Sam shares what it was like growing up without her dad, who passed away before she was born and how grief can still leave a hole in your heart, even when you never got the chance to know someone. We talk about how that grief has changed as she's gotten older, how her family has worked to keep his memory alive, and what it means to live with a piece of someone you've never met. We also talk about her relationship with her stepdad. The resentment she carried growing up, the challenges they faced, and how keeping her heart open has allowed that relationship to slowly become a place of healing as an adult. Finally, we talk about how making friends after school feels so much harder than anyone prepares you for, how friendships change as life gets busier, and how isolating it can feel when your relationships don't look the way they used to. We discuss the balance between putting yourself out there and learning to be okay on your own, adjusting expectations around friendships, and trusting that connection doesn't always happen on a perfect timeline. In this episode, we talk about: Growing up without a parent and grieving someone you never knew How grief evolves as you get older Navigating complicated parent/step-parent relationships Letting go of resentment and keeping your heart open Why friendships feel harder in your late 20s Adjusting expectations around friendships in adulthood Balancing independence with the desire for connection Learning to enjoy your own company without giving up on meaningful relationships ✨Lets connect on instagram: @mikalen.co