The shame was never mine to begin with

I spend money on things that are beautiful. It makes me feel good. But I do it quietly – because a responsible person doesn’t spend money on beauty. The shame around money was handed to me by people whose approval I spent years trying to earn. I still feel judged when they see my things. I still hide my purchases from them. The hardest part isn’t that they handed it to me. It’s that I’m still the one carrying it.