This One’s for the Orange Slices

I recently joined a new community, one of those spaces that’s already buzzing with energy. It’s full of amazing people, interesting conversations, and opportunities to connect. It’s the kind of place where you can scroll for five minutes and already be laughing, learning, and adding three things to your “I need to check this out” list.

One day, as I was catching up in the group, someone posted a graphic that made me laugh out loud. I won’t go into the whole story behind why it was posted but the image itself was unforgettable:

A single, bright orange slice tucked right into the middle of a garlic bulb.

Not next to it. Not in a bowl with it.
Inside it.

The colors popped. The shapes clashed.
And even though the original post was meant in fun, it got me thinking…

For over 20 years, I’ve lived and travelled outside my country of birth. Different languages. Different rhythms. Different unwritten rules. I’ve learned to read grocery store labels I couldn’t pronounce a year before. I’ve learned how to greet people properly in cultures where a “hello” isn’t just a word, it’s a whole dance of eye contact, tone, and timing.

And like anyone who’s lived across borders (literal or figurative), I’ve picked up flavors along the way.

That’s part of the beauty.
It’s part of the richness.
It’s part of why I’m not the same person I was when I left “home.”

But sometimes you wake up and realize you’ve been the orange slice in the garlic bulb for a while. And you have to ask yourself:
Am I still myself in here?

When you fold yourself into an environment long enough, you will take on some of its flavor. That’s not a bad thing. Exposure shapes us. It can soften sharp edges, expand perspectives, add layers we didn’t know we needed.

But it can also, slowly and quietly, pull us away from our center.

The danger isn’t that we become “garlicky.”
The danger is that we forget we were citrus to begin with.

We stop noticing the spaces where we’re holding back parts of ourselves because they don’t quite fit. We downplay certain instincts, dim certain strengths, or edit out certain joys, not because anyone told us to, but because we’ve unconsciously adapted to match the cloves around us.

Over time, that can chip away at something essential: the connection to our core self.

Now sometimes we choose to remain inside the garlic bulb. We know we’re different and we stay because we believe we can still thrive here. Maybe there’s purpose in the work, love in the relationships, or value in what we’re building.

When that’s the choice, the focus becomes protecting our center. We keep that vivid orange alive inside us, even while surrounded by a different flavor. That means having practices, relationships, and spaces outside the bulb that keep us aligned with who we are.

But sometimes the better choice is to leave.

I was reminded of this in a workshop I recently led. During the breakouts, several women shared how challenging it is to hold their awareness and their way of seeing in environments where those around them aren’t asking the same questions or valuing the same things.

It’s exhausting to constantly translate yourself. To keep offering your brightness into spaces that don’t see it, use it, or want it.

And sometimes that’s the signal. It’s not about trying harder to “make it work”; it’s about finding the places where you don’t have to work so hard to be understood.

If you’ve been feeling that subtle mismatch, not enough to create drama but enough to notice, try this:

1. Name something from your center.
   What words describe your natural state when you’re most yourself? Confident? Curious? Playful? Compassionate? Steady?

2. Scan your spaces.
   In the past week, where have you felt most connected to that state? Where have you felt furthest from it?

3. Decide your role.
   Is this a bulb you want to stay in (and if so, what will keep your center intact)?
   Or is it time to gently, intentionally, find a new environment where your flavor belongs without compromise?

Being the orange slice in the garlic bulb isn’t a moral judgment. Garlic is wonderful. It has purpose. It brings magic to the right dish.

It’s simply an invitation to ask:
Am I still myself here?

And if not, is it because I’m growing richer through the mix, or because I’m slowly losing my center?

Sometimes the answer will keep you where you are, with a renewed commitment to stay connected to yourself. Sometimes the answer will lead you to a new space entirely.

Either way, you deserve environments that let you live fully as you are: bright, whole, and unmistakably you.

So here’s to the orange slices.
The ones thriving inside the garlic bulb and the ones wise enough to leave when the bulb is no longer where they’re meant to be.