Well, to me, Ahsoka being worried about herself and what she will transmit explains so much about the difference between her younger self (pre Vader reveal) and her stoic, stand-offish attitude both in the early eps of this show and her short appearances in The Mandalorian and Book of Boba Fett, her refusal to teach Grogu herself in those shows, her ambiguity towards Sabine in this show in the first few episodes and refusal to speak about her past even when it's not Baylan trying to get under her skin in a fight.

It's not just choosing to live, though it's also that. It's also choosing to tear down emotional walls, allowing herself living in the moment again and experiencing wonder (as with the space whales) - but for all this to happen she had to face the emotional trauma of the past, which wasn't just what happened with Anakin specifically but growing up as a child soldier in general.

Now would that be my interpretation without any other shows as background knowledge? I think so, but of course I can't know for sure, so maybe I completely wouldn't. Once this season is over, I'll try to watch more than three eps of Rebels again and am curious whether that will change my current impressions of Sabine and Hera.