NOW I AM_ is a reflective storytelling project grounded in shared humanity, designed to foster empathy and safer online spaces through real voices and lived experience.

We didn’t choose all the circumstances that shaped us. Many of us were born into environments, relationships, or moments that asked more of us than we were prepared for. Some of those experiences stayed with us — showing up as anger, isolation, confusion, or a quiet sense of not belonging. Often, those feelings followed us into the online world, where identity can feel both amplified and fragmented at the same time.

We are sharing our stories not because they define us, but because they are part of us. Each story reflects a moment where life narrowed, where choices felt limited, or where we struggled to be seen — by others or by ourselves. What you’ll see here is not a before-and-after, and not a lesson. It is an honest account of how circumstance, context, and perspective shape the way we move through the world.

It’s easy to misunderstand one another when we only see outcomes, reactions, or headlines. Understanding often comes later — when we slow down long enough to sit with someone else’s experience and see the world as they did, if only for a moment. This space exists to make that possible.

As you watch, we invite you to notice what feels familiar. You may recognize an emotion, a reaction, or a question you’ve carried yourself. That recognition matters. It allows perspective to replace assumption, and curiosity to replace judgment. It reminds us that our experiences are rarely as isolated as they feel.

These stories live here to create space for empathy, not agreement. To offer a mirror rather than a message. Some of us have found ways to channel pain into purpose, or disconnection into contribution. Others are still figuring it out. Both realities belong here.

NOW I AM_ exists to help make online spaces feel more human by grounding them in real voices and lived experience — and by bridging the distance between how we see ourselves and how others see us, online and offline. If something here resonates, we hope it offers perspective and understanding. None of us are finished. But by listening to one another, we come a little closer to understanding what it means to be human — together.

NOW I AM_

Stories shared in collaboration with The ‘MPOWER Project’s creative team.