Stories
Because every life is made of chapters. Some break us. Some rebuild us. Every chapter has something to teach us.
These are the stories that shaped who I am—the beautiful, the heartbreaking, the unexpected, and the life-changing. My hope is that as you read them, you'll feel a little less alone and discover pieces of your own story along the way.
✨The Light I Almost Kept Hidden
Why I Finally Decided to Share My Story
If you had asked me five years ago if I would ever write publicly about my life, I probably would have laughed.
I had spent years trying to convince myself that the past belonged in the past. That healing meant moving on. That strength looked like pretending everything was okay.
I thought my story was something to overcome.
I never imagined it would become my purpose.
I didn't become passionate about growth because life came easily. I became passionate about it because I've had to fight for it.
I've navigated childhood trauma, grown up in a home shaped by alcoholism, and experienced the heartbreak of losing my brother. I've wrestled with faith, untangled beliefs that no longer served me, and learned that healing sometimes begins with the courage to ask difficult questions.
If you had told me five years ago that I'd be writing publicly about my life, I probably would have laughed.
I had spent years trying to convince myself that the past belonged in the past. That healing meant moving on. That strength meant pretending everything was okay.
I thought my story was something to overcome. Honestly, I spent a lot of years trying to outrun it.
I never imagined it would become my purpose.
I didn't become passionate about growth because life came easily. Life has stretched me, broken me, rebuilt me, and taught me more than I ever wanted to learn. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, I realized healing wasn't about becoming someone else. It was about becoming myself.
My story includes childhood trauma, growing up with an alcoholic father, losing my brother, wrestling with my faith, untangling spiritual beliefs that no longer served me, and learning that healing sometimes begins with the courage to ask difficult questions.
I became the first person in my family to graduate from college, finishing my degree while raising a toddler after an unplanned pregnancy. Later, I found the strength to leave an emotionally abusive marriage and begin rebuilding a life that finally felt like my own.
I've poured everything I had into teaching until I realized I had forgotten how to pour into myself. If you're a teacher, you probably know exactly what I mean.
Each of those chapters shaped me.
None of them define me.
Healing didn't happen all at once. Trust me—I wish it had.
It happened in therapy.
It happened while learning how to raise my daughters...and myself.
It happened through books, music, long walks, difficult conversations, and learning to set boundaries.
It happened when I finally realized I wasn't responsible for saving everyone.
Little by little, I began to understand something I had missed for years.
The experiences I once wished I could erase became the very experiences that connected me to other people.
Every time I shared a small piece of my story, someone would quietly say,
"Me too."
Turns out, the moments I was most afraid to share were often the ones people connected with the most.
They reminded me that our stories aren't meant to stay hidden. They're meant to remind other people that they aren't alone.
That's when I knew my story was never just mine.
If even one person feels seen because I chose honesty over perfection...
If one educator finds hope after burnout...
If one woman finds the courage to choose herself...
If one person believes healing is possible because I shared my journey...
Then every hard chapter was worth something.
I finally realized my story wasn't something to hide—it was something to share.
That's why I created Shine With Shel.
Not because I have all the answers.
But because I know what it's like to search for hope.
And I believe the light we find is meant to be shared.
Sometimes we grow through it.
And eventually, we shine because of it.
Before You Go...
Every story has a lesson hidden inside it.
Here's mine from this chapter:
Healing doesn't ask us to forget where we've been. It asks us to carry it differently.
Your Chapter:
Has there been a chapter in your life that changed the direction of your story?