“You look quite different.”

The other day, while standing in line at a voting booth, the person verifying my documents paused and said, “You look quite different from your ID proof.”

I smiled and replied, “That ID was issued 10 years ago. Ten years is a long time.”

We both laughed, but the remark stayed with me.

It made me reflect on how often we look at people, situations, and even ourselves through old lenses—without realizing how much has changed.

We search for familiarity.
We expect sameness.
And when we don’t find it, we say, “You’ve changed.”

But change is inevitable.

Time changes.
The environment changes.
People around us change.
And whether we like it or not, we change too.

Our experiences shape us.
Our struggles mature us.
Our learnings soften or strengthen us.
And all of this shows—on our faces, in our choices, and in the way we see the world.

Yet, many times, we are judged using versions of us from years ago.

If you look at me through a lens from 10 years back, of course I’ll look different.
Because I am different.

And that’s not something to apologize for.
It’s something to appreciate.

Change doesn’t mean we’ve lost ourselves.
Often, it means we’ve grown into who we were meant to be.

Maybe it’s time we update our lenses—
For others.
And for ourselves.