I want them to know … no matter what … they belong

Growing up…I believed there was something wrong with me.

I was different.

I was tall….ALWAYS, even in Kindergarten.

I was biracial. My mom is Korean but I don’t look Asian.

I was poor. Well not me … but my family didn’t have much financially.

Most of my life I felt like the black sheep.

I believed it was because there was something wrong with ME.

I reasoned it must be because “I’m a loser.”

Being a loser would be like being contagious.

So no one would want to be around me.

That would explain the shunning from my White family.

We weren’t the All-American family, like my cousins.

The water was my safe place.

It was a place where everyday, I was greeted with a giant smile and “Hello Koren!”

I felt so welcomed … like I belonged.

And for a shy girl who believed deep down she wasn’t good enough, I didn’t have to talk to anyone because my head was face down swimming.

To this day I know that swimming saved me.

I’m sure you have that person, place, sport, activity that supported you + created a pivot for your own journey.

For me … it was swimming and my age group coach Gene.

He was kind.

He was compassionate.

He didn’t judge.

He had a great laugh!

He created a space where I felt like I belonged … no matter what.

All it took was a simple “Hello Koren” wrapped up in a gigantic smile.

Now I provide that safe place for others.

Everyday I’m on the pool deck … I say hello to each kid with a smile.

I want them to know … no matter what:

My personal shame story of I’m not enough has evolved.

Today, I build communities for people to belong, here at How She Really Does It and with the AquaMonsters.

You have your own shame story. It does not have to define you.

Like me … you can use it to help others. What can YOU create from it?

smiling,

P.S. Need help uncovering what your stories are? Use the system in my Mindset Journal to discover your stories and move through them. CLICK HERE