If your 14-year-old self could see you now, what would they think?

Episode Five with Lizsie Hsu

This week on The Confession Book, I’m joined by Lizsie Hsu — holistic anxiety coach, yoga, meditation, and breathwork guide, and someone I’ve quickly come to admire for the way she shares her journey with both vulnerability and lightness.

I wanted to ask Lizsie this question because of how openly she reflects on her own evolution. There’s an undeniable inner fire in the way she commits to trying, failing, learning, and trying again. I was curious how her younger self might see her now.

We often think of vulnerability as sharing our deepest secrets, fears, pains, but sometimes it’s just showing up as we are — imperfect and real. This conversation touches on growth, identity, and how our healing often advocates for our younger selves, providing us with the tools we didn’t have back then.

As always, we begin with one question.

Listen to the full episode

From the Conversation

Michelle: If your 14-year-old self could see you now, what would they think?

Lizsie: I feel like she would be in disbelief. The life I’m living right now looks nothing like what I could’ve imagined at 14. At that age, I was really looking outside of myself to decide what was important. How to live.

Michelle: Fourteen is such an interesting time for anyone, but especially for girls. It’s this pivotal moment when everything becomes external. You’re still absorbing and learning, but now you're trying to figure out who you are.

Lizsie: Exactly. At 14 my priority was boys. That’s when you start becoming aware of your body, of how you look.

Michelle: So your younger self would be in disbelief to see you now, tell me more.

Lizsie: I think the past few years, I’ve finally felt like I’m stepping into who I am.

At 14 I was experimenting a lot and just diving in without overthinking… which is actually something I’m trying to relearn now. To turn off my brain and just follow my heart. To do things with more of that childlike spirit again.

After the Conversation

What is your greatest extravagance?Anything that has to do with longevity, vitality, and raising my consciousness. Recently, it’s been yoga, skin care, nutrition, and experiences—such as retreats, travel, and engaging with my local community.

What do you most value in your friends?The ability to have a deep conversation about anything and both come out with a bigger understanding of each other and the world.

What’s the last…

Song you listened to: Ant Na Siftee by White Sun

Book you read: Money A Love Story by Kate Northrup

Show you watched: Building The Band on Netflix

Get to know Lizsie…

Last Thoughts…

The world we live in can be so heavy. On top of that, amidst all the very real seriousness happening around and within us, we layer on the pressure to get it “right” and present a perfected, polished version of our lives. But can sharing our ideas and even our more serious stories also be a reminder that we’re alive?

When we stop pouring energy into the mental loop of self-doubt and perfection, we free that energy to live in our bodies… to create, share, and connect. Time and again, I find that growth often happens when we return to the parts of ourselves we left behind and learn to care for them in new ways.

What I loved most about this conversation with Lizsie is how she reminds me that healing isn’t about looking to the guru outside of us. It’s about connecting with those who are genuine in their humanness, and choosing, moment to moment, to show up as we are. Inner peace isn’t a point we reach, but something we create and that we get to choose each day.