ACCOUNTABILITY

Accountability

Without Excuse

I am not confused about what I did.

I am responsible.

I do not need more context,

more time,

or a better explanation to justify my choices.

I made them.

Silence was a decision.

Delay was a decision.

Staying when I should have left

and leaving when I should have stayed

were decisions.

Harm does not require malice.

Impact does not wait for intent.

What happened happened

because I participated.

I will not hide behind my wounds,

my fear,

my history,

or my healing.

Pain explains behavior.

It does not excuse it.

I will not ask to be understood

before I am accountable.

I will not demand forgiveness

as proof of my growth.

I name my part without minimizing it.

I listen without correcting the story.

I stay present without collapsing into shame.

Accountability is not self-destruction.

It is self-respect.

It means I stop negotiating with my integrity.

It means I stop outsourcing the cost of my choices.

It means I repair what I can

and accept what cannot be undone.

I do not need to be perfect.

I need to be honest.

From this point forward,

my words and my actions

will match—

even when it costs me comfort,

even when no one applauds.

This is where my authority comes from:

not innocence,

but ownership.

I stand in what I caused.

I choose differently now.

That is the work.

— Flower InBloom