Almost everything is multisided – including the occurrences that give us pain. So, we asked some of the most enlightened folks in the community to share how they have harnessed their pain to help rather than hurt them.

Janice DaCosta

I stopped hiding my pain the day I realized it wasn’t a weakness—it was my greatest source of power. For years, I wore the mask of ‘I’m fine’ while silently carrying the weight of disappointment, loss, and self-doubt. I thought strength meant pretending I wasn’t hurting. The first time I told my truth was in a publication feature about being a teenage mom. Read More>>

May Hemmer

I believe I was about 29 when I decided to stop hiding. When I was 18 and I first auditioned for a Renaissance festival, I was left with a bad taste in my mouth. I was told that because I was a woman of color, I could only be a peasant in that setting. Read More>>

Josh Schieffer

I grew up in Los Angeles in a split home, usually raised by one parent at a time, with family drifting in and out. My parents were consumed with their own failed and new relationships, so I was often an afterthought. I was wild, didn’t like authority, and coasted through school as a D student. Read More>>