Unmasking: The Sacred (and Scary) Journey Back to Myself

For most of my life, I wore a mask.

Not a physical one, but an energetic one.  The kind you slip on when you believe your true self isn’t quite enough. I wore it when I wanted to be the “good girl,” the “high achiever,” the “fixer,” or the “leader who never faltered.” It was polished, presentable, and very, very heavy.

At the time, I didn’t call it masking. I called it being responsible. Being professional. Being strong.

But masking isn’t strength.

It’s survival.

It’s the silent agreement we make with ourselves:

“Hide the messy parts, the soft parts, the sacred parts. Be who they expect. Say what keeps you safe.”

And that worked—until it didn’t.

The Moment That Woke Me Up.

I remember sitting across from someone I loved.  Someone who was upset with me because she felt I was changing. She was angry. Accusing. Disappointed. But in that moment, I knew it wasn’t really about me. It was about control. Her fear. Her projection.

And everything in me wanted to say:

“My friends don’t treat me like this. My friends don’t try to control me.”

But I didn’t say it.

I stayed quiet. I wore the mask.

And I regretted it.

Not because I needed her approval.  Because I had abandoned myself to keep the peace.

That moment burned into me.

It was the last time I would silence my truth just to make someone else comfortable.

The Cost of the Mask.

When you wear a mask long enough, you start to forget what your real face looks like.

You lose touch with your instincts.

You second-guess your voice.

You attract relationships and opportunities meant for someone you are pretending to be.

I was exhausted!  Not from what I was doing, but from how much I was managing while doing it.

That conversation cracked something open. And slowly, the unmasking began.

The Freedom of Just Being

Unmasking didn’t happen all at once.

It came in small, brave choices:

• Saying “no” without apology.
• Crying in front of someone I trusted.
• Showing up without a script or a strategy.
• Speaking the truth I used to edit in my head.
• Trusting that the right people would stay.

Each act was a return.

Each step peeled back a layer of self-protection and brought me closer to the truth.

If You’re Tired of the Mask …

Let this be your sign:

You don’t have to earn your right to be you.

You don’t have to prove anything to be loved.

You don’t have to shrink so others feel comfortable.

You get to unmask.

You get to breathe.

You get to become a clear channel for truth, healing, and freedom.

And maybe, just maybe, that’s what you were always here to be.