By Sherilyn Smith

There comes a moment in a woman’s life when she decides to stop performing and start revealing. Not for attention, but for alignment. Not for applause, but for healing. 

That moment, for me, is now.

My name is Sherilyn Smith, and this column is titled She Is Me….it’s more than a title. It is a declaration. It is an invitation. It is a safe place.

I have spent more than two decades building experiences for others and creating environments where people feel seen, engaged, inspired, and transformed. From global stages to intimate community gatherings, my life’s work has centered on curating moments that move people. Yet, in all of that creating, I have come to understand something deeply personal: the most powerful experience we can ever create is the one where we finally tell the truth about ourselves.

Not the polished version. Not the curated narrative. But the real story…the one that carries both beauty and burden, strength and struggle, faith and fear.

She Is Me is where I choose to tell that truth.

And in doing so, I desire to create a space for you to do the same.

As beautiful Black women, we have long carried the mindset with expectation to be everything for everyone…strong, composed, available, resilient, and dependable. We show up. We deliver. We lead. We nurture. We build. We love. And while all of that is powerful, it can also be heavy when we feel there is no room to simply be….to be vulnerable, to be uncertain, to be in process.

This column is not about perfection. It is about permission.

Permission to be honest about where you are. Permission to acknowledge what you feel. Permission to release what no longer serves you.

Because I believe this with my whole heart: Transformation does not happen in hiding, it happens in transparency.

Transparency is not a weakness. It is courage in its purest form. It is the decision to remove the mask and trust that what remains is still worthy. It is choosing to say, “This is me,” even when your voice shakes or you feel alarmed.

And let me be clear. This is not easy work.

Transparency requires intention. It requires accountability. It requires a willingness to confront truths we may have buried for years. But it also unlocks something powerful: freedom. The kind of freedom that allows us to walk lighter, love deeper, fullness of breath, live more fully and be well within. 

For me, this journey is both personal, professional, and spiritual.

My faith has always been my foundation, but even within that, I am learning that God does not require perfection or performance. He requires honesty with a pure heart. He meets us in truth. He transforms us in truth. And when we surrender our stories, fully, truthfully and authentically…..he does the work within us that no rehearsed performance could ever do.

Then living begins.

So, what can you expect from She Is Me?

You can expect real dialogue about identity, purpose, faith, relationships, motherhood, leadership, and the spaces in between. You can expect reflections that challenge, uplift, inspire, and affirm. You can expect moments that feel like a mirror and others that feel like a release.

Most importantly, you can expect a safe space.

A space where judgment has no place.
A space where honesty is honored.
A space where your story matters including the parts that you are still trying to understand.

Because when one woman chooses to be transparent, she gives another woman permission to do the same. And when we begin to show up as our full selves, unfiltered and unapologetic, we don’t just transform individually, we transform collectively.

That is the heart of this column.

That is the purpose of She Is Me.

This is not about me alone. It’s about us.

It is about recognizing that our stories are different, yet they are often connected in ways we don’t realize. It is about understanding that the strength we admire in one another is often born from the very vulnerabilities we try to hide. It is about creating a community where we can lay down the weight of expectation and pick up the freedom of truth.

So as I introduce myself to you…not just as a professional, not just as a leader, but as a woman committed to growth and I do so with openness.

I am evolving.
I am learning.
I am unlearning.
I am becoming.

And I invite you to take this journey with me.

Let this be the place where we tell the truth.
Let this be the place where we heal.
Let this be the place where transformation begins.

Because at the end of each day, this is what I know to be true:

She is not perfect.
She is not finished.
She is not pretending.

We Will Be Well.