A New Kind of Confidence

Sometimes the strongest thing you can do isn’t push through—it’s speak up.

From Silence to Strength: A New Kind of Confidence

I come from a proud, strong-willed Italian family. We rarely talked much about struggle. We push forward. We handle things. We carry weight without asking others to hold it for us.

My mother is a strong-willed, passionate, and empathetic woman—a true beacon of strength. And my father—he had his flaws, like anyone—but when we were young, he worked long days building houses and did everything he could to provide for our family. That was his way of showing love: through sweat, consistency, and quiet sacrifice. I carry that with me.

So I did what I knew. I became the one who couldn’t fail. Not out loud. Not even to myself. Self-doubt? Insecurity? I crushed it with determination. I made life a competition—with myself. I refused to let weakness in, because if I said it, I might believe it. And that wasn’t an option.

That mindset carried me through a lot. I built a career. Earned degrees. Led classrooms. Pushed past exhaustion. I showed up strong—and in many ways, I was strong.

But there’s another kind of strength I didn’t know I needed.

When I was finally diagnosed with ADHD, it cracked something open. Not in a bad way. In a real way. It gave me words for things I’d never named: executive dysfunction, time blindness, mental fatigue, emotional overwhelm. And for the first time, I could look at those patterns and say, “That’s not a flaw—it’s wiring.”

Since then, I’ve started sharing more. Speaking honestly about what I’ve faced, and what I still face. Not as a confession, but as connection. Because if my story can help someone else stop hiding theirs, it’s worth telling.

🔍 What I Learned

Self-advocacy isn’t always about asking others to understand—it’s about giving yourself permission to be fully seen. And true confidence isn’t about pushing through everything alone—it’s knowing you don’t have to.

💡 Why This Stuck With Me

Because strength looks different now. It’s not just in the push. It’s in the pause. In the honesty. In knowing that telling your story doesn’t make you weaker—it helps someone else find their own.