Some people bloom at sixteen and some at thirty-five. Seasons aren’t a race, they’re a schedule.

Development runs on its own clock, and the visibly early ones are not ahead so much as on a different timetable. Comparing arrival dates treats a long uneven process as if it were a single lap. Someone finding their footing at thirty-five has not lost anything, they have simply been on a slower schedule.

When the comparison starts, replace the question of who is ahead with what stage you are actually in. Work on what this stage requires rather than on what the visible stage looks like. The people you envy at sixteen will be having their own reckonings later.