Some moments leave creases that never fully flatten. That’s not damage. That’s history.

Certain experiences change your shape permanently, and you do not go back to being the exact person you were before them. That is not a malfunction. A life that left no marks at all would mean nothing ever reached you. The crease is evidence that something mattered.

If you are carrying one of those, you do not have to get rid of it in order to be alright. You can let it be real and keep building around it.