Welcome to month one of Blooming Out Loud. Let’s talk about one tiny word that has shaped so much of my life: should. It slips into our goals, our bodies, our worth—until it feels like a weight we can’t shake. For me, it showed up in the five times I failed my licensing exam, each one echoing with “I should have done better.” What saved me wasn’t perfection, but permission. I learned to swap should for could and want, to speak to myself with kindness, and to lean on community that believed in me when I couldn’t. Slowly, I realized the test didn’t own my competence—I did. This episode is for anyone carrying invisible rulebooks. Shoulds are everywhere—on social media, in childhood judgments, in the way we measure ourselves against moving finish lines. But your body is not a problem to fix; it’s your home. When the critic whispers should, pause and ask: What do I actually want? By the end, I hope you feel permission—to be late, to be messy, to pass on the fifth try and still be brilliant. You are not broken. You are enough.