Tenishia Vanderpool

There’s something quietly powerful about doing your groundwork.

It’s not glamorous by any means. It’s not the part I post on Instagram. It’s the part that happens in silence when I’m sitting with truths I didn’t ask for, naming values I wasn’t raised to articulate, unlearning habits I didn’t even realize were mine, and trying to heal things I don’t always have the words for.

Its the digging, the pausing, the slow returning to myself after seasons where I lost track of who I was because I was too busy surviving, caregiving, people-pleasing, or simply trying to make life work.

But. Once you’ve done that work—once you’ve gotten down to the nitty gritty, tended to your inner landscape, and nurtured your soil… you create something healthy, honest, and rooted in your truth. That soil becomes home base, even when everything else around you shifts.

Healthy soil isn’t something you prepare once and forget. It’s a living ecosystem. A steady place you can return to when life gets loud, when your clarity wavers, or when everything around you shifts faster than you can process. And when that soil is well-tended, it becomes the one thing you can rely on when you feel the need to begin again.

And listen… there will be seasons when you have to begin again.
I’ve lived that more times than I can count.
Switching careers. Leaving environments that drained me. Moving…starting from scratch. Letting go of identities that weren’t mine. Rebuilding routines, relationships, and expectations.

But no matter what, When you’ve done your inner groundwork, you don’t restart from emptiness, You restart from clarity.

I know I can return to the roots I’ve grown—roots nourished by my values:

• Personal Growth & Development
• Authenticity & Self-Acceptance
• Connection & Community
• Mindfulness & Presence
• Empowerment & Autonomy
• Balance & Well-Being

These aren’t just pretty words on a list.
They’re the nutrients I go back to when I’m overwhelmed, confused, or trying to figure out my next step. They’re the things that remind me who I am beneath the noise.

You’re returning to something that already aligns with who you are. And the more you develop your soil (your values, beliefs, boundaries, and awareness) the stronger your roots become every time you return

You’re not “back at square one.”
You’re back at your roots—and that is the most grounded place you could possibly begin.

You’re allowed to return to your soil as many times as you need. In fact, you’re meant to.

Seasons shift. Identities evolve. But the soil you nurture holds you through every version of yourself.

So if you’re feeling the pull to begin again, take a breath.

Come home to the soil you’ve cultivated.
Trust that your groundwork is still holding you.

And remember:
every time you return, your roots grow deeper.