Burning Beneath

A simple conversation can change someone’s day. Sometimes, it can change your own life too.

The other day, I talked to a complete stranger. It began like any normal chat—small talk, life events, opinions on social norms, the usual things. Casual. Easy. Comfortable. We laughed. No tension. No expectations.

Somewhere between one joke and the next, the conversation shifted naturally. She started opening up about her childhood, the heavy moments, the pain she had carried quietly for years.

She cried while talking. Not because the story was meant to break her—but because she finally felt safe enough to speak it aloud.

She kept telling me she felt lighter, better, just by sharing it. When we reached the goodbye moment, she said it felt like losing a friend.

And that’s when it hit me:

Helping her, even just a little, made me feel alive. Connected. Like I had a purpose.

I’ve struggled with my own mental health too—trying to rise when things get heavy, finding ways to keep moving forward. But this moment felt different. Clearer. Stronger. Real.

Maybe this is the year I stop questioning my direction from a distance.

Maybe this is the year I finally act on the plans I’ve held in my heart—to build something meaningful for the community, to help others heal, to connect with my purpose instead of observing it from afar.

Maybe this is the year I answer the question I’ve whispered for so long:

Why am I here?

Not with fear.

But with action.

Because maybe the answer was always in the moments where I helped someone feel heard.