Back to the Battle

 ⚔️ **Back to the Battle**  

_By Aarav_

Rebuilding my inner strength was one thing.  

But **stepping back into the real world** —  

that was the true test.

After everything that happened —  

the loss, the breakdown, the silence —  

returning to work felt like going to war…  

with my **own fears**.

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Would people still believe in me?  

Could I focus again?  

Would I panic under pressure?

Those questions haunted me.

But I didn’t let them win.

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The first day back in front of my laptop,  

I stared at the screen longer than I’d like to admit.  

Not because I forgot my skills —  

but because I was afraid of **being seen as broken**.

But then I reminded myself:

💬 “I survived the worst —  

a line of code can’t scare me.”

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So I began… slowly.  

Fixing bugs.  

Joining calls.  

Responding to feedback.

Bit by bit,  

I felt my **old spark** return —  

only this time,  

it was **wiser**.

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The turning point?

One day, a teammate said,  

“I missed your clean code logic.”

That small comment felt bigger than a promotion.

It was proof:  

I wasn’t just back.

I was **better**.

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I worked not to prove anything to others,  

but to prove something to **myself**:

That I still had it.  

That I could rise again.

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Now, every task I d