you're not rebranding. you're just growing. (you're a person, not a brand)

I’ve noticed how easily we say it now. “That’s not my brand.” “I love your rebrand.” “I’m entering my blahblah era.”

I’ve said them too, casually and too many times (Yikes!). And for the longest time, it felt non-dangerous, like a shorthand for growth, for change, for becoming. But recently, it started to feel a little off... because when did being we start sounding like a marketing campaign?!

A rebrand suggests intention, a strategy. It's usually planned, announced, and rolled out. (You can believe me as someone who works in the marketing industry, and this is not a flex #GodHelpMe) 

But real growth doesn’t happen that way, at least not for me. 

I realized I was filtering myself more than I thought. Deliberately overthinking before liking or interacting with something online, or before choosing to do something. And that’s a very weird place to live in. Making decisions based on trying to be consistent instead of exploring my curiosity. 

Brands need to be consistent, and I realized, I don't...

I am allowed to outgrow things without replacing them with something more “on brand.” I am allowed to change, without explaining why we need the change. But I think what makes this harder now is the sheer amount of inspiration everywhere. We’re constantly absorbing other people’s (a.k.a the hundreds of influencers you follow) taste, "aesthetics", lifestyles, and opinions. So the question becomes: how do you even know what you like anymore without someone else influencing it? 

I don’t think the answer is avoiding influence because that feels impossible. And to be honest, unnecessary. I think it’s more about noticing: What stays with you after you close the app? What you keep coming back to, even when it’s no longer trendy. What you enjoy privately, without the urge to document or justify it.

I always believed that some things reveal themselves only in the absence of an audience. So lately, I’ve started paying attention to that version of myself who isn’t curating, documenting, or explaining. The one who just… chooses. And surprisingly, that version feels a lot more grounded than the one trying to maintain coherence. 

' Coz maybe authenticity isn’t about having a clearly defined identity at all. Maybe it’s about allowing yourself to be a little unfinished... 

So this year, we are not rebranding. We're just letting ourselves grow. :)