A sculptor never calls his work finished until he lays down his tools for the last time. A painter always finds another stroke to add, another shade to refine. A writer edits, rewrites, and rewrites again. And yet, somehow, we expect people, ourselves included to be complete, final versions, as if growth has an end point.

But you are not a finished project. The person you were five years ago is not the person you are today. The person you are today is not the person you will be five years from now. Growth is constant. Understanding deepens. Perspectives shift. Experiences shape.

And if you are still evolving, so is every person you meet.

Too often, we judge people as if they are frozen in time, as if one mistake defines them forever, as if one phase of their life is the entirety of who they are. We meet someone and assume they will always be as they are in that moment. We hold people to past versions of themselves, refusing to acknowledge that they, too, are in the process of becoming.

What if we approached life differently? What if, instead of expecting perfection, we gave space for growth? What if, instead of demanding that people have everything figured out, we accepted that they, like us, are still learning?

The person you disagree with today might gain new wisdom tomorrow. The one who failed yesterday might be the one who succeeds in ways you never imagined. The friend who disappointed you might grow into someone who understands better, who loves better, who becomes better. And you? You are not done changing either.

So be patient with yourself. Be patient with others. Life is not a finished painting, but an evolving masterpiece. Every day, another stroke is added. Every encounter, another detail is refined.

And until the final breath is drawn, none of us are truly complete.