I am the woman who rose from the rubble —not untouched, but transformed.

A former Division I athlete turned wellness rebel, I’ve walked through fire — addiction, abandonment, and the ache of not knowing where I came from. But every fracture shaped me. Every scar taught me how to shine.

I grew up in a household full of love, but still carried the quiet ache of being a biracial girl adopted into a world that didn’t quite mirror my reflection. I searched for belonging, battled my body, lost my way — and still, I came home to myself.

For most of my life, I didn’t feel like I fit in with other women.
There was always this silent competition — a pressure to be prettier, thinner, softer, quieter.

No matter how hard I tried,
I never felt enough.
Not pretty enough.
Not small enough.
Not wanted enough.

When my sister died, and then my mother — followed by more family losses I couldn’t fully process — I turned to the only coping tools I had:
food, alcohol, and the temporary illusion of being needed.
I tried to grieve through escape.
I tried to soothe the ache with addiction and unhealthy attachments — anything to not feel the full weight of what I’d lost.

But when my cousin died — suddenly, and too soon — something shifted.
His death cracked me open in a different way.
I didn’t want to numb this one.
I didn’t want to escape.
This time, I wanted to honor him — and honor myself.

So I made a different choice.

Instead of drowning in the bottle, or running to unhealthy friendships, or burying myself in food and shame —
I chose something radical.

I chose sobriety and I chose ME.

Not as punishment.
Not as a fix.
But as a sacred return.
Not to who I was before the pain —
but to the woman I was always meant to become.

I'm Ready to Choose Me