The Middle Is Not the End

In this episode, I reflect on being in the middle - navigating setbacks, grief, and moments where quitting feels easier than continuing.  This is a reminder that struggle doesn't mean stop, and the middle is not the end of the story.

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Transcript

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This is unfiltered everyday shit. I'm India Sherell. This podcast is a space for real conversations about life as is actually happening. The good, the bad, and everything in between. Unfiltered, honest and unapologetic. Some episodes are reflective, some are raw, so let's talk about it. Welcome. I'm your host, India Sherelle. I want to talk about the middle for a minute. Not the beginning and not the finish line. The middle, because in the middle is where things get quiet. It's where life interrupts your plans. It's where you start questioning whether you even have it in you. To keep going. And before I go any further, I want to say this, this episode is shared with care. I'm not telling anyone's else's story in detail, and I'm not here to assign blame or judgment. I'm simply reflecting on my own experiences and lessons that taught me along the way. I do briefly mention loss and grief in this episode, so please take care of yourself as you listen. When I think about the middle, I think about my own experience with school. And a lot of people don't know this, but while I was in school, I ended up in the hospital because I was pregnant and that setback changed everything. I remember deciding that I wasn't going back to school and my mind that was it. I was done it wasn't because I wasn't capable, I had just lost my daughter, and that kind of loss changes you. It's not something you just push through. It's heavy, it's quiet, and it sits with you. What got me through that period wasn't strengthened the way people usually talk about it. It was talking, talking to the people I trusted, talking to myself. Giving myself permission to feel what I was feeling and slowly learning to stop blaming myself for something that was never my fault. That process took time. It was a road and for a while the middle felt like the end, but it wasn't. That's why later on when I saw someone I cared about had a rough patch of her own, I understood it I had a friend who was going through school and started facing obstacles. She lost her car. Life started pulling on her,, and then came the voices. People meaning well, but speaking from fear, suggesting she should come back. Suggesting she stopped suggesting that maybe this was a sign, and I remember telling her, don't leave. Don't quit in the middle. Just because it's hard doesn't mean it's wrong. I could say that to her because I knew. What it felt like to stand at that crossroads when quitting feels logical, even responsible, and still choose to continue when you are ready. And that's the truth I wanted to leave you with today. The middle can look like loss. It can look like delay. It can look like starting over. But it doesn't mean the story is over. Sometimes the middle is where the healing happens. Sometimes it's where clarity forms, sometimes it's just where you learn how to be gentle with yourself. When you're in the middle of a setback and you don't have all the answers, what helps you to keep going? And what will it look like to let yourself not go through it alone, especially when support shows up in unexpected ways? Well, that's it for today. That was just me talking it out loud. Remember, this podcast is just freedom. This is me. It's an outlet. It's a voice. It's somewhere I can just speak freely. Thanks for stopping by and thanks for listening.