Why There’s Absolutely No Shame In Being A ‘Late-Bloomer’

I am a late-bloomer and I don’t give af. 

Mind you, it has taken me years of gaining strength and confidence in myself as a person to not be offended by this title.

By definition, a late-bloomer means “a person whose talents are not visible to others until later.” This is true, and it can also mean a person who develops later in terms of puberty and indulges in certain life activities a little later.

For me, this is most definitely true, because I never formed my womanly body until I was 18 and this is the first time I developed an ass ( Thank God).

I also never partied, I had my first drink at nineteen and my first kiss last summer at 22. I am also still a virgin, even though that is now partly by choice.

Just writing this now, I cringe a little because I know how much society shames you for being a late bloomer and how much of a toll it actually takes on your self-esteem knowing you experienced things later in life because we live in such a fast world.

I see 13-year-olds who look 20 now and it honestly scares me thinking about the generation we are now living in. There is so much pressure to do everything so fast and when you really put it into perspective, why does it matter?

I remember when I was a lot younger, the comments I would get from people would actually send me into a depression. Family members or people at work would comment on me being ‘sheltered’ or co-workers would laugh at the idea that I wasn’t yet dating.

I left both situations feeling like such an outsider and at times, I questioned my existence. And that is not okay.

No one should have to feel like that because of who they are and how they live their life.

Everyone experiences life differently and that doesn’t mean you are now a lame or you are less of a person for not being like ‘everyone else.’ And most importantly, it doesn’t fucking matter. 

So many people are depressed, insecure, consider suicide, just because of how their lives have turned out and how people respond because of it. We are the authors of our own lives and how we choose to live it is our choice and how we mature into adulthood is our personal experience as well.

I know there are a lot of people right now who are late-bloomers or who are in situations that are considered less than the norm, and I just want you to know that you are amazing for being yourself. 

Don’t listen to others who judge you because of who you are and don’t feel bad because you are considered a late-bloomer. In fact, own it. Know that life goes on no matter how and when you experience it and there is always time for what you want to experience.

Take pride in the fact that because you never caved into social pressure, you never allowed yourself to do things you didn’t want to do, just because you wanted to be accepted.

No one else’s perception of you matters, as long as you love yourself and your life.

Use your experience to make you into the person you have always wanted to be and own the fact that you are unique.

You will finally get to a stage where you love yourself for who you are because you know what truly matters in life and being a late-bloomer is definitely not one of them.

You may be a late-bloomer, but so what? Don’t be ashamed and own it instead.