There was a time when I didn’t know who I was without others’ approval.
A time when my worth was measured by how much I gave, how small I made myself, or how well I performed the roles of daughter, partner, mother, employee.
I was doing all the “right” things.
But inside—I was disappearing.
I had lost my voice. My spark. My self.
The Breakdown Before the Breakthrough
My journey into authenticity didn’t begin with a vision board or a self-help book. It began with pain.With years of carrying shame that wasn’t mine. With relationships that mirrored my unworthiness back to me. With pretending I was fine while silently falling apart.
I had to face my own silence. The kind of silence that comes after trauma. I was molested as a child. That was the first time I learned to leave my body, to stay quiet, to feel like something was wrong with me.
Years later, I found myself in relationships that echoed the same story: self-abandonment in the name of love.
The Turning Point
At 29, I stopped running.
I learned to sit with my pain instead of numbing it.
I learned to travel—not just across places—but deep into the parts of myself I had buried.
I started to write. To cry. To breathe again.
I began choosing solitude over approval, inner peace over perfection, truth over performance.
Authenticity became less of an aesthetic and more of a reckoning.
And then—a rebirth.
What I’ve Learned About Authenticity
Authenticity is not about always being confident or loud.
It’s about the daily courage to choose yourself.
Here’s what I’ve learned:
- You can’t be authentic if you’re constantly betraying your own needs.
Saying yes when you mean no isn’t kindness—it’s self-abandonment. - Healing is messy, but it’s where the gold is.
There’s no light without facing your shadows. True authenticity rises when we stop pretending we’re fine and start getting real about what hurts. - Boundaries are not walls—they’re bridges back to yourself.
Every time I said “no” to what drained me, I was saying “yes” to what lit me up. - You are not too much. You were just in rooms that asked you to shrink.
The right people will not only accept your authenticity—they will celebrate it. - Being seen can feel terrifying when you’ve spent years hiding. But it’s also where the magic begins.
Becoming Me, Again
Today, I help other women do the same:
Reclaim their truth.
Speak their voice.
Heal from the inside out.
Not to become someone new—but to remember who they were before the world told them who to be.
I’m a mother, a coach, a healer, a co-founder of RiZe—and still, I am always becoming.
Authenticity is not a final destination.
It’s a devotion.
A daily return.
A soul promise to never leave yourself again.
So if you’re here, wondering:
“Who am I, really?”
Or thinking, “There has to be more than this…”
I want you to know:
There is more.
And it begins with you.
Welcome home.
With love,
Kriska
