From my heart to you

I turn 40 in July. Like, half my life is already... gone.

And it feels like a second puberty — when you start asking yourself: who am I?

If you dive deep enough into my story, you'll find quite a few social roles and events.

Some of the past

I went to kindergarten, school, then university. The first 20 years pass in learning — and it's wonderful when the desire for knowledge and curiosity stays with you for life. Mine did.

Current status

I'm a worker. An HR professional who for the last 10 years has been helping people from the Philippines work in Prague — helping them relocate, renew visas, navigate life. I work with around 200 people, most of whom I helped start a new path in an unfamiliar country. I joke that I'm a teacher, and they're my kids.

I'm the co-founder of an NGO supporting children and their mothers from Ukraine. Somehow, quietly, it's been 4 years — though I'll be honest, with such scarce government funding it's become a suitcase without a handle: too heavy to carry, too dear to drop.

On top of that — I'm homeless. I can't go back to Crimea, to the places I'm from. There was a time when that feeling of rootlessness was sharp and painful.

But home is here. In 2008 I moved to Prague after university. Completely alone, with one suitcase. I even managed to get from Želivského station to Prague 7 — with no internet on my phone. 🙂

I was a wife for 13 happy years. My heart has been broken a few times — the last time not long ago.

I'm a mother. In 2013 a wonderful man came into the world, and I'm raising him to believe that a woman is not someone to be served — without misogyny, without toxic masculinity.

And to not paint too rosy a picture

I'm an adult daughter of an alcoholic who has been sick for almost my entire life.

I'm a child who grew up watching codependent relationships. Though there are beautiful family stories too — my grandmother and grandfather won a green card and moved to the US at 50, without fear, without hesitation, ready to change everything. And they lived that life. Last year my grandmother wanted to go to Milan to see Leonardo da Vinci. So they went. My grandfather is nearly 90, my grandmother is over 80. Together for more than 60 years. Still going.

I'm a woman whose first sexual experience was through violence. From a stranger who caught me on the street.

Do you know how many women share this experience? One in three. Worldwide. You are not alone. Neither am I.

I'm a woman who spent nearly 40 years doing amazing, wonderful things — and didn't believe in herself.

Thank god for therapy, the Camino, and the fact that I want to be photographed naked in Forbes :) — I finally believe in myself.

And I want to give that belief back to other women.

My wishes. Simple ones.

To stop slouching. For my son to be healthy and happy. To live hand in hand with a man who feels safe and fun at the same time. Peace in the world. And a new dress.

I believe in the power of sisterhood and community. I'm certain that finding yourself is easier with the support and love of other women.

I built this website in three days (and I'm still fixing bugs — proud vibe-coder mom :) ) because I know I've been walking toward this idea for many years. And I cry constantly right now — but not from sadness. From the way women write about how much this is needed. From the matches already happening in the buddy programme. From women registering. It's something extraordinary.

I'm grateful to be alive, intelligent, and to have an enormous visionary mind. And I'm happy doing what I do.

Forbes, I'm coming!!! 🙂

Please — believe in yourself. There is so much beauty and strength in a woman. Let's help each other create!

P.S. Thank you to the wonderful Elena who came and fixed my tap, my socket, and my brain!