Project ReNew

Episode 38: Bend

Project ReNew Team

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Bend  the strength and toll of adapting
You bent again.
To keep things smooth.
To keep things safe.

It looks like strength.
 But inside, something’s slipping.

Bend is the ache after.
The part of you that wonders
how much more can I give
without losing myself?

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Project ReNew

These are not just stories.

They are anchors.

Written in the after,

after the shift,

after the silence,

after the moment you wondered if you could still keep going.

This space isn’t loud.

It doesn’t shout advice.

But if you let it,

it might steady something in you.

A small pull toward the part of you

that still believes in why you began.

Not because it’s easy.

Because it’s yours.


Bend 

Maybe you're sitting there,
 trying to convince yourself to go in.

Or maybe you're just coming out
 and you don’t even remember half of what just happened.

You bent again today, didn’t you?

Maybe it was small.
 You stayed late.
 Took on someone else’s patient.
 Did the charting that should’ve been done hours ago
 because…
 because it’s just easier that way.

Or maybe it was bigger.
 You said yes
 when your whole body wanted to say no.
 You made yourself smaller
 so things would run smoother.

And no one saw it.

They never do.

You’ve gotten so good at bending,
 it doesn’t even register as a choice anymore.

It just feels like survival.

And I’m not here to tell you that’s wrong.

I just wonder
 when was the last time you stood up straight
 and remembered what it felt like
 to take up space?

Not in protest.
 Not in defense.
 Just… because you deserve to.

I don’t know your breaking point.
 But I know bending isn’t the same as balance.

And even the most flexible things
 have limits.

Even you.

There’s a place inside you
 that’s never once doubted your worth.

It’s quiet.
 But it’s steady.
 And it’s still here.
 Waiting for you to come home.