My Story | The Heart Behind Radiant Rise

Hello, friend.Welcome back to Radiant Rise.If you listened to the first episode, thank you for taking that first step with me.Today I thought I’d answer a question that you might already be wondering…Who is Michelle?Not the author.Not the advocate.Not the person behind a microphone.Just…Michelle.Because if we’re going to spend time together every week, I think it’s only fair that you know who’s sitting on the other side of this conversation.I’ve Never Been Good at Talking About MyselfI’ll be honest…Talking about myself has never come naturally.Writing does.Writing gives me time to think.To process.To find the right words.Speaking them out loud is a little scarier.But if Radiant Rise is going to be built on honesty, then I can’t ask you to be vulnerable if I’m not willing to be vulnerable first.Like so many people, my life hasn’t gone the way I imagined it would.There have been seasons filled with joy…And seasons filled with pain.For years I struggled with symptoms that people couldn’t see.Pain.Exhaustion.Brain fog.Medical appointments.Questions without answers.Being told things were “normal.”Feeling like maybe I was imagining what my body was screaming at me.Eventually I received diagnoses that helped explain parts of my journey, but they didn’t magically make life easier.They simply gave names to battles I’d already been fighting.Along the way I also learned I have ADHD and later received an autism diagnosis as an adult.Looking back, so many pieces of my life suddenly made sense.Things I had blamed myself for…Things I thought were character flaws…Were actually pieces of how my brain has always worked.That realization didn’t erase the challenges.But it helped me begin replacing shame with understanding.Writing became my safe place.It became the place where I could say the things I didn’t always know how to say out loud.I never imagined that those words would eventually become books…Or a blog…Or a community…Or now…A podcast.Radiant Rise didn’t start because I had all the answers.It started because I knew what it felt like to desperately need someone to say…“I understand.”My goal isn’t to tell you how to live your life.It’s to walk alongside you while you live yours.Some weeks we’ll celebrate together.Some weeks we’ll cry together.Some weeks we’ll learn something new.Some weeks we’ll simply remind each other that getting through today is enough.If this podcast can become a place where even one person feels seen…Then every moment spent writing, recording, and sharing will be worth it.Before we end today’s episode, I want to leave you with this.Your story doesn’t have to look like mine to matter.Your pain doesn’t have to match someone else’s to be real.And your healing doesn’t have to happen on anyone else’s timeline.Thank you for spending a little time with me today.If something in this episode resonated with you, I’d love to hear from you.Until next time…Be kind to yourself.Give yourself grace.And remember…You are not alone. Get full access to Radiant Rise | Michelle Baldwin at radiantrisemystory.substack.com/subscribe