From Survival to Influence: How Purpose, Psychology, Military Service, and Music Shaped My Voice
A journey of healing, service, and discovering purpose beyond survival.
Every Woman Has a Story Behind Who She Becomes
Every woman has a story behind who she becomes. Before the title, the recognition, the education, the uniform, the career path, or the creative work, there is a journey that shapes her. My journey has not been simple, but it has been powerful. It has been shaped by psychology, military service, surviving sexual abuse, becoming a veteran, creating music, navigating LGBTQIA+ challenges, and learning the difference between what I was good at, what I liked, what I loved, and what I was truly called to do.
Psychology Became a Way to Understand
For me, psychology became more than a field of study or an area of interest. It became a way to understand people, pain, behavior, survival, trauma, healing, and the human mind.
When someone has lived through sexual abuse, they often begin to see the world differently. They understand silence differently. They understand fear, power, manipulation, and resilience in ways that others may not.
Psychology helped me look at life through a deeper lens. It taught me that survival is not weakness, healing is not simple, and what a person goes through does not define their worth—but it can shape their purpose.
Military Service Also Shaped Me
Military service also shaped me. It teaches discipline, responsibility, structure, sacrifice, endurance, and leadership. It teaches people how to keep going even when they are tired, hurt, overlooked, or misunderstood.
But military life also reveals difficult truths. Men and women may wear the same uniform, but they do not always experience the same treatment, expectations, pressures, or respect. Pay grade, rank, and responsibility define a person's role on paper, but they do not always reflect the emotional labor, personal sacrifice, or additional challenges that women and LGBTQIA+ service members may carry.
As a woman, there can be pressure to prove yourself repeatedly. There may be expectations placed on you that differ from those placed on men. Sometimes women are expected to be strong, but not too outspoken; capable, but not too confident; professional, yet still judged by their appearance, tone, identity, or emotions.
Even in environments where pay grade and rank carry significant weight, women may still have to fight to be heard, respected, believed, and valued for the full scope of their responsibilities.
Navigating LGBTQIA+ Challenges
As someone connected to the LGBTQIA+ experience, I understand the challenges that can accompany visibility, identity, boundaries, and respect.
LGBTQIA+ individuals often have to think about safety in spaces where others may never question whether they belong. They may face assumptions, double standards, stereotypes, or people who misinterpret their kindness, boundaries, personality, or presence. These challenges can become even more complex in professional, military, medical, or social environments where power dynamics already exist.
Becoming a Veteran Added Another Layer
Becoming a veteran added another layer to my identity.
A veteran's journey does not end when military service ends. The experiences, discipline, memories, challenges, and sacrifices remain. For many veterans, transitioning to civilian life requires strength, patience, and self-discovery. You must learn who you are outside the uniform while still honoring everything the uniform taught you.
You build a new life while carrying the lessons, responsibilities, and scars that came with your service.
Music Has Also Been Part of My Journey
Music has also been an important part of my journey.
Music gives a voice to what pain sometimes cannot explain. It allows emotion, creativity, truth, and healing to exist in the same space.
For me, music is more than entertainment. It is expression. It is release. It is a way to transform experience into sound, feeling, and meaning. Music allows people to connect without explaining every wound in detail. It gives strength and vulnerability permission to exist together.
What Am I Good At?
Throughout my life, I have had to ask myself important questions:
- What am I good at?
- What do I like?
- What do I love?
- What can I build?
- What can I survive?
- What can I transform into purpose?
Sometimes the answer was psychology.
Sometimes it was music.
Sometimes it was service.
Sometimes it was simply choosing to keep going when life gave me every reason to stop.
Money Also Plays a Role
Money also plays a role in the choices people make. Passion is important, but survival is real.
Women, veterans, students, survivors, and LGBTQIA+ individuals often have to balance financial stability with pursuing their dreams. Education costs money. Careers require time. Healing requires resources. Music requires investment. Building a future demands discipline, planning, and sacrifice.
Sometimes people choose what pays the bills first and then fight their way back to what they truly love.
The Path to Becoming a Professional
The path to becoming a professional is not always glamorous. Behind every accomplishment are often struggle, trauma, education, rejection, long nights, financial pressure, and moments of doubt.
Yet those experiences can also create wisdom. They teach a woman how to lead with compassion, recognize injustice, protect her boundaries, speak with authority, and transform her life into something meaningful.
My Story Is Not Only About What I Survived
My story is not only about what I survived. It is about what I became.
Sexual abuse did not take my voice.
Challenges in military life did not erase my purpose.
Becoming a veteran did not stop my growth.
Navigating LGBTQIA+ challenges did not make me less worthy of respect.
Music gave me expression.
Psychology gave me understanding.
My experiences gave me strength.
Influence Is About Impact
Influence is not only about fame, money, titles, or status. Influence is about impact.
It is about using your story to help others feel seen. It is about showing people that pain can become purpose, education can become power, creativity can become healing, and survival can become leadership.
The Woman I Am Today
The woman I am today was shaped by struggle, service, learning, responsibility, creativity, and resilience.
I have learned that what you are good at may open a door, but what you love gives you the courage to walk through it.
I have learned that responsibility is not always measured by pay grade and that strength is not always recognized by the people who benefit from it.
I have learned that healing is not linear, but it is possible.
Most importantly, I have learned that my voice matters.
My journey is still unfolding. I am still learning, still growing, still creating, and still discovering new parts of myself.
But one thing is clear: I am not defined by what tried to break me.
I am shaped by the strength it took to rise, the wisdom I gained along the way, and the purpose I continue to build.
That is where my influence begins.
