“Where Are You From?”

Sometimes, courage sounds like a whisper that finally finds its voice.

A veces, el valor suena como un susurro que por fin se atreve a hablar.

There’s a video going around. Katy Perry is on stage with a little girl by her side.

She can’t be more than seven or eight. Katy asks her, “Where are you from?”

The girl hesitates. She glances at the crowd, her shoulders draw in.

Softly, she whispers, “Mexico.”

Katy leans closer and says, “Say it proud. Say it loud.”

The little girl finds her voice, and says it again, this time with a touch more confidence.

The crowd roars.

And for a brief moment, the whole stadium becomes a place of belonging.

Por un instante, todos pertenecen.

What moved me most wasn’t her louder voice.

It was the quiet courage it took for her to speak at all.

Because true pride doesn’t always shout. Sometimes it simply lives in the heart, steady and certain.

That is what our children, and all of us, need to feel right now.

Not pressure to prove ourselves.

But the calm, grounded knowing that who we are, where we’re from, is enough.

Es suficiente.

Our children are watching us.

Nos están observando.

They see how we carry our stories, whether we shrink, soften, or stand steady.

And from our example, they learn how to hold their own.

These times can make belonging feel fragile.

That is why our role as parents, mentors, and guides is sacred.

We don’t just tell others to be proud.

We model what it means to live from dignity, to move through the world with quiet presence, to belong from the inside out.

Desde adentro hacia afuera.

Presence.

Presencia.

That is the courage we need. Not loud, but steady. Not perfect, but true.

Our children deserve that.

To walk with dignity.

To feel peace in their own name.

To carry their heritage as strength, not burden.

Con dignidad. Con esperanza.

And when this season of hardness gives way to something more humane, it is that inner pride, not defiance but rootedness,

that will guide us forward.

Seguiremos caminando.

Together, building a world where identity is not a risk, but a right.

Pride doesn’t always need to be loud.

Sometimes, it’s the quiet knowing:

I belong.

Pertenezco.

In my work with clients, I see this moment repeat itself, a whisper ready to become a voice.

Coaching isn’t about fixing. It’s about remembering who we already are.

See more about my work at:

www.myautenticoself.com