Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?

We have had the good fortunate of connecting with Nobel Laureates, titans of industry, rockstars and rising stars across dozens of industries and we have always found their stories about who they were early on to be most fascinating. Below, you’ll find members of the community sharing their responses to this key aspect of their stories.

Angela Caldwell

Hahahaha, I’m just imagining my father’s answer to this question being something along the lines of, “No one could ever tell that girl what to do, much less who to be.” Early in life, I received a gift that I have learned over time very few little girls receive, and that was a parent who coached me to always question authority. Read more>>

Liana Islamgareeva

Since childhood, I’ve always been drawn to creativity. I dreamed of becoming an actress and loved everything about emotions, beauty, and self-expression. But life led me into photography — and I realized I had found exactly where I was meant to be. Photography became my way to tell stories and inspire others. Read more>>

Jasmine Wesley

When I was a little girl, I was free — I felt everything. I laughed, I cried, I sang without holding back. I was completely in tune with myself and the world around me. But somewhere along the way, I learned to hide parts of that — to say I was fine even when I wasn’t, to make myself smaller just to fit in. Read more>>

Brad Belmondo

Honestly, there have been a few versions of me, though I’ve always been lucky enough to understand myself for who I really am and to never question it. Off the top of my head, three major points in my life have brought me here. Growing up, I was very fortunate to come from an extremely loving and supportive family. Read more>>