When Grief Changes You

The first time I felt grief, I was just a child.
I was around ten or eleven, and my parents were foster parents. We had several foster brothers and sisters over the years — our home was always filled with new faces, new stories, new chances for love.

Then one day, we got a call. One of our foster brothers — a sweet boy who had gone back to live with his family — had taken his own life.

At that age, I didn’t fully understand what suicide meant. I just knew I felt a deep sadness I couldn’t explain. I remember sitting in my room that night, staring at the ceiling, trying to understand why someone would want to leave this world.
That moment stayed with me, even though I couldn’t name it then. It planted a seed of empathy — one that would grow quietly through every chapter of my life.

Years later, grief came again — this time in a way I could never have prepared for.

When my grandfather passed in 1984, I was in high school, and it was the first time I felt that kind of adult heartbreak — losing someone who helped shape my heart and faith.

Then, decades later, in July 2021, my baby brother died by suicide.
He was my heart — the one who made me laugh through tears and believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. His loss tore through me like a storm, leaving silence where joy used to live.

And in June 2024, I lost a dear friend — someone who believed deeply in my mission.
He and his partner helped me renovate my first storefront, pouring hours of love and excitement into helping me bring my dream to life. They celebrated my purpose, cheered for my vision — and only a few months later, he ended his own life.

Each loss carved new shapes into my soul.
Each taught me something different about love, faith, and purpose.

Grief doesn’t get smaller — you simply grow around it.
It makes you softer in some ways and stronger in others. It opens your eyes to the quiet battles people fight behind their smiles.

That’s why 7 Semicolon Couture exists.
It’s not just about clothing — it’s about stories. It’s about the people who didn’t get to finish theirs, and those of us who carry them forward.
Every design, every message, every conversation is a promise that their stories continue.

If you’re grieving right now, please know this:
You don’t have to “get over it.”
You don’t have to be okay all the time.
You just have to keep moving through the moments, one breath, one day, one heartbeat at a time.

💛 Your grief may shape you, but it doesn’t have to break you.