Part 15 – This Doesn’t Fit
The final (for now) chapter of Confessions of a Late Bloomer.
We were raised with stories about what it means to be a woman. And what it means to be a man.
Stories about power, about softness, about roles we were expected to play and the shape we were supposed to shrink into.
But those stories didn’t leave much room for realness.
This final piece is about dismantling the inherited scripts—
about letting go of the idea that you need to be small to be safe,
that leadership makes you unlovable,
that tenderness makes you weak.
It’s about not fitting—and finally realizing that’s the point.
Because your wholeness doesn’t come from fitting in.
It comes from breaking free.
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Part 13 – Exactly Where I Am
from Confessions of a Late Bloomer
At 46, almost 47, life looks nothing like the version I mapped out in my twenties.
There’s no partner, no porch swing, no one to text “I’m home.”
But there’s presence. And peace.
And a quiet knowing that I didn’t miss out, I simply rerouted.
This piece is about rewriting the story of what it means to “arrive,”
and finding beauty in the unexpected version of your own life.
Because maybe you’re not behind.
You’re not late.
You’re not unfinished.
Maybe… you’re exactly where you’re meant to be.
Listen to the full Confessions of a Late Bloomer series:
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Website → www.thecleverconfidante.com
Joy, After All | Confessions of a Late Bloomer (Part 13)
I used to think joy had to be earned. That it came after the work was done, the bills were paid, and the responsibilities handled. That adulthood meant growing out of the wild, weird girl that I used to be.
But now I know: joy doesn't disappear as we grow older, it just gets buried. Under expectations. Under timelines. Under the pressure to be taken seriously.
This episode is about digging that back up. It's a love letter to the messy, magic moments that remind us who were really are.
A reminder that joy is not a reward. It's a return.
Confessions of a Late Bloomer is a reflective storytelling series by The Clever Confidante.
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Instagram → @thecleverconfidante
Blog + full series → www.thecleverconfidante.com
Part 11 - Lessons of a Late BloomerLate blooming sometimes means you confuse peace for boredom.You think calm means a lack of spark.You miss the thrill of the chase…until you realize that “thrill” was actually your nervous system on edge, calling it chemistry.This piece is about that shift.About recognizing how safety, ease, and steadiness aren’t boring—they’re what your healing heart has been asking for all along.Because love doesn’t have to knock you down to be real.It can meet you where you are.And when it does?It’ll feel like recognition.Not a rescue mission.Just a good kind of love.✨ Follow for more reflections:Instagram → @thecleverconfidanteBlog → www.thecleverconfidante.com
Confessions of a Late Bloomer — Part 12
For years, I thought sexy was something you either were or weren’t.
Other girls had it. I didn’t.
And so, I tucked that word away in the drawer marked “Not for me.”
This episode is about reclaiming it.
Not the version defined by magazines or male validation,
but the kind that emerges in the awkward questions, the belly laughs, the brave little ways we come back to our bodies and say,
“You’re mine.”
Whether you’ve always felt a little too cute to be sexy,
or you’re still trying to figure out what desire looks like on your own terms—
this one’s for you.
🖤 Listen in, and if it resonates, share with someone else still finding their way home to themselves.
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✨ For more reflections, writing, and late bloomer confessions:
📸 Instagram: @thecleverconfidante
🌐 Blog + More: www.thecleverconfidante.com
Part 10 – Learning to Let Go | Confessions of a Late BloomerI used to think life would unfold according to plan.If I worked hard, loved deeply, and kept trying… things would fall into place on my timeline.But life doesn’t care about your five-year plan.It gives you the long way.The detours.The slow, silent waiting room where nothing seems to happen—until you look back and realize everything was.This one’s about surrender.About releasing the tight grip on the life you thought you should haveso you can bloom into the one that’s actually meant for you.Because what blooms without rushingalways turns out bigger, braver, and more beautifulthan anything you could have forced.✨ Follow for more reflections:Instagram → @thecleverconfidanteBlog & Audio Archive → www.thecleverconfidante.com
Part 9 – Permission to Leave | Confessions of a Late Bloomer
There’s a moment that changes everything:
When you realize you can leave.
Without waiting for a reason big enough.
Without explaining your discomfort.
Without shrinking your needs to stay "polite."
In this episode, we explore what it means to listen to your body, honor your discomfort, and walk away with your peace intact.
Sometimes love is staying.
And sometimes, love is knowing when to go.
✨ Follow for more reflections:
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Blog & Audio Archive → www.thecleverconfidante.com
Part 8 of Confessions of a Late Bloomer is about the heartbreak that doesn’t look like heartbreak—
The relationships that almost worked.
The people who almost chose you.
The kind of love that makes you question if crumbs were ever a feast.
This is a reflection on almosts—
The ones we mistook for love.
The ones that taught us how to stay too long, hope too hard, and silence our knowing.
But more than anything, this is about learning to stop reaching for potential and start reaching for what’s real.
It’s about knowing you were never too much—
You were just never meant to shrink.
🖋️ Read more reflections, or follow along here:
Instagram: @thecleverconfidante
Website: www.thecleverconfidante.com
Part 7 of Confessions of a Late Bloomer is about the kind of heartbreak no one warns you about—
Not the crying-on-the-bathroom-floor kind.
The quiet kind.
The kind where your heart, so bruised from trying, decides to go still for a while.
In this chapter, I talk about the year my heart went numb.
What it means to lose not just a person, but a version of yourself you thought was whole.
And how healing isn’t about rushing back to feeling—it’s about learning how to tend to your heart when it goes quiet.
🖋️ More stories, softness, and slow blooms here:
Instagram: @thecleverconfidante
Website: www.thecleverconfidante.com
In Part 5 of Confessions of a Late Bloomer, I’m sharing the breakup that left the deepest scar — and it wasn’t a boyfriend who broke my heart.
It was the quiet unraveling of a friendship I thought would last forever.
This episode is about the grief no one prepares you for: the loss of someone who knew all your early versions.
It’s about betrayal, heartbreak, and learning to stop begging for space in someone’s life.
Because sometimes the greatest love stories aren’t romantic — they’re the friendships that shape us, and the losses that rebuild us.
🖋️ Follow along for more reflections, stories, and slow blooms:
Instagram: @thecleverconfidante
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In Part 4 of Confessions of a Late Bloomer, I'm taking you back to a girl who stiffened at hugs, who lived in her mind more than her body, and who didn’t quite know how to belong.
This episode is about touch, trust, and the long, slow journey of learning how to let connection in.
It’s about the awkward beginnings, the earned softness, and the brave little ways we grow into ourselves, even when it feels easier to stay guarded.
🖋️ Follow along for more stories, reflections, and late blooming lessons:
Instagram: @thecleverconfidante
Website: www.thecleverconfidante.com
In Part 3 of Confessions of a Late Bloomer, I’m taking you back to the moment that wasn’t a beginning; it was the last straw.
First kisses are supposed to feel like magic, like doors swinging open. Mine felt more like a door quietly closing.
This episode is about our expectations, the moments that wake us up, and the quiet bravery it takes to say, "This isn't for me."
Because blooming late doesn't mean you missed anything — it means you’re learning to trust the timing of your own heart.
🖋️ Follow along for more reflections, stories, and slow blooms:
Instagram: @thecleverconfidante
Website: www.thecleverconfidante.com
Episode 2: What to Do With My Arms | Confessions of a Late Bloomer🎙️
There’s an awkwardness no one prepares you for, the kind you feel not in your words, but in your body.
Where do you put your hands when you’re standing still? How do you make yourself smaller, safer, invisible enough not to draw the wrong kind of attention?
In this episode, I talk about growing up learning to shrink myself without even realizing it, about the way we inherit discomfort around being seen, and how long it can take to start feeling at home inside your own skin.
This is a soft story of fumbling, surviving, and slowly, gently, unfurling.
Because sometimes healing doesn’t look like fireworks.
Sometimes it just looks like letting your arms hang freely by your sides without shame.
Come listen. Come remember.
Maybe you'll recognize a little of yourself, too.
✨
Follow along:
Instagram: @thecleverconfidante
Website: thecleverconfidante.com
Riding Without Hands is the first chapter of my Confessions of a Late Bloomer series — a journey through letting go, trusting the unknown, and learning to move forward before you’re ready.
It's about that terrifying, beautiful moment when life asks you to loosen your grip... and trust yourself anyway.
🖋️ Read the full Confessions of a Late Bloomer series and find more reflections here:
🌿 Website: https://www.thecleverconfidante.com
📷 Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecleverconfidante
If this resonates, you’re not alone. I hope you’ll stay a while.
Always,
Your Trusted Friend ❤️
When the Soul Remembers Before the Mind Understands | The Clever ConfidanteSometimes we meet someone and feel an undeniable spark—not of romance or reason, but of recognition. A resonance that stirs something deep within us. These moments, however brief or confusing, are invitations. Not to figure things out, but to feel… to witness what awakens in us when the soul remembers before the mind understands.
In this episode, I reflect on the sacred discomfort of early connection, how it stirs old stories, patterns, and hopes—and how we can respond with self-trust instead of reaction. Whether it’s romantic, platonic, or spiritual, the connections that move us also mirror us. They show us what’s ready to be healed, reclaimed, or rewritten.
💫 This is a soft reminder:
You’re not too much.
You’re not imagining things.
You’re remembering.
🌿 Listen in if you’ve ever felt:
A sudden connection you can’t explain
Emotionally stirred by someone you just met
Tenderness, confusion, or curiosity in the early stages of relating
The pull to respond differently, to lead from love, not reaction
🪞 Let this episode be a mirror. A gentle pause. A breath of truth.If this resonated, subscribe for more.🔗 Read more on The Clever Confidante: www.thecleverconfidante.com📩 Stay connected: The Clever Confidante
Always,
Your Trusted Friend
There is No "Them" | The Clever Confidante
A spoken word reflection on Unity & Division.
We've been taught to see the world in divisions - us vs. them, right vs. wrong, safe vs. dangerous.
But what if there was never a 'them' at all? What if the lines we've drawn are illusions, designed to keep us apart?
"There is No 'Them'" is a spoken word piece that explores how fear, manipulation, and power shape our perceptions of others - and how breaking free from this cycle can lead us back to our shared humanity.
Where have you been taught to see separation? And what happens if you choose connection instead?
If this resonated follow for more.🔗 Read more onThe Clever Confidante
📩 Stay connected:The Clever Confidante
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Sacred Rose: Surrender & Letting Go Meditation
The Sacred Rose Journal is a journal that takes you on a transformative self-love journey through February following the phases of the moon all while inviting you to explore the healing aspects of the rose.
To accompany you on that journey the meditations have been recorded as a guide.
Buy your Sacred Rose journal now so that come February you can start the journey of self-reflection, meditation, and rejuvenation.
If you have any questions you can visit The Clever Confidante to learn more.
Sacred Rose: Blossoming Meditation
The Sacred Rose Journal is a journal that takes you on a transformative self-love journey through February following the phases of the moon all while inviting you to explore the healing aspects of the rose.
To accompany you on that journey the meditations have been recorded as a guide.
Buy your Sacred Rose journal now so that come February you can start the journey of self-reflection, meditation, and rejuvenation.
If you have any questions you can visit The Clever Confidante to learn more.
Sacred Rose: Rebirth Ritual with Candle Ceremony
The Sacred Rose Journal is a journal that takes you on a transformative self-love journey through February following the phases of the moon all while inviting you to explore the healing aspects of the rose.
To accompany you on that journey the meditations have been recorded as a guide.
Buy your Sacred Rose journal now so that come February you can start the journey of self-reflection, meditation, and rejuvenation.
If you have any questions you can visit The Clever Confidante to learn more.