Do you feel like you have lost your identify after becoming a mom or after a traumatic experience?

I didn’t realize I did until I left my marriage and gained some clarity, how far I had strayed from who I was to my core. I was now divorced, a full-time working mom, living with my mother again, and reevaluating what I wanted to be in the future, who I was aspiring to be, and who I no longer was. All I knew was that I had to keep pushing forward, because I was a single mom now.

I went back to counseling and started reading self-help books. My counselor even wrote on a 3×5 card “What do I have to tell myself to believe that I am a good person”? I still have this card and look at it often. For me, losing my identity wasn’t just about who I was outside of being a mom. It was everything else that makes me who I am to my core. Growing Boldly by Emily Ley and this Live Beautifully podcast episode helped a lot. Spending some alone time when I could to do some self-reflection of who I wanted to be and who I still was. Gaining the confidence to be unapologetically myself. To not hide my past. To let my true roots shine through. It is a personal journey and it takes time to find your identity.

I am truly the happiest I have ever been in my life. My son turns 3 in 2 months. I have found the true love of my life. I got a job promotion towards a long-term career in healthcare administration and in 6 weeks, I will have my masters degree. The Daily Palm was created. So many people have made comments like “I have never seen you this happy” or “I didn’t know you liked ____” and I always respond I hid it away for awhile, but yes I have always loved ____.

I am still working on gaining confidence in the new me while I go along the journey of figuring it out. However, I do know that I am a working boy mom. Daughter. Girlfriend. Friend. Creative. Lover of all things coastal, interior design, fashion, and wellness. Bookworm. Coffee obsessed. Adventure seeker. Smoothie lover. And I am determined to build an amazing life for my family and myself.