The old you was cheerful, full of smiles, always laughing. The you now? Not cheerful anymore,but not sad either — just… empty.

The old you was excited to meet friends, to talk and share stories. The you now? Suddenly so introverted, like you’d rather be alone than risk another disappointment.

The old you was so easily excited, so full of hope. The you now? Too tired to feel anything at all.

And now you’re wondering,“I don’t recognize myself anymore.”

So, here’s the thing…

You need to let the old you go.

That era has passed. Welcome this new version of you.

Back then was the Happy Era. The era where you learned how to:
 — see the colors in life
 — dream big
 — live lightly

But you’ve already learned those lessons. Now it’s time to move into a new era, to learn other lessons.

Maybe now is the Sad Era. The Struggling Era. The Empty Era.

But you need to pass through this one, too. Because here, you’ll learn:
 — how to manage expectations
 — how to accept life with an open heart
 — how to rise even after you’ve fallen to your lowest
 — how to stop giving your energy to people who don’t value you

These are the lessons you could never learn in the Happy Era.

And once you’ve learned them, you’ll enter the Wise Era.

The era where you become calmer, more accepting, more understanding.

And when you’ve grown wiser, you’ll get to return to your Happy Era — but this time, it will be a whole new level of joy.

Until you hit another Sad Era again. Where you’ll gather new lessons again.

And return once more, even wiser.

Happy. Sad. Wise.

Happy Sad. Wise.

Over and over again.

Because this is just the world. Not paradise.

This is just the world. Not paradise.

Hi, thank you for reading the whole thing, and, hi, it’s me, Alvi Syahrin, the author of ‘insecurity is my middle name‘, ‘loneliness is my best friend‘, ‘overthinking is my hobby, and i hate it‘, ‘sorry, my younger self, i cant make you happy… but i will‘. For now, it’s only available in Indonesia (and, sometimes, in Malaysia), but I hope it can be anywhere in this world… especially in your bookshelf. :)