Sharing Our Scars

The lights were bright. The filming equipment, expensive. The production team, talented. My scar, visible.  

I had the chance to participate in an amazing project called #Make60Proud with the founding team from LiquidTalent, Alex Abelin and Scott Annan. Asking young entrepreneurs how they hope to be making their 60 year old self proud and asking more seasoned entrepreneurs what advice they'd give to their younger selves, this video captured some amazing stories. 

As I finished sharing my story and watched the replay, I was pleased with my comments but I was also very aware of my scar.  This was filmed less than three months after I had a basal cell removed from underneath my right eye. While a very common and a non-lethal form of skin cancer, it was a process that I'd love to not repeat. And the scar, though expertly crafted by my surgeon, still sits right in the middle of my face. 

Most days, I don't notice it. Most days, it is a non-factor. Most days, I am not paying enough attention in my hustle and bustle to see it in my reflection. But not that day in the studio under the studio lights. The bright lights and the incredible cameras captured every feature and every detail of my face as I spoke. 

In the brightest lights, all that we are is seen. In the brightest lights, our stories are laid bare. In the brightest lights, our scars surface. In the brightest lights, we see truth. 

The brightest lights show us parts of our story we frequently want to leave hidden in the shadows. We avoid the bight lights. We prefer the shades of darkness. We prefer the cloak of anonymity we find there.  

And the world misses out on our truth. The world misses out on our lessons learned. The world misses out on the real version of us that isn't filtered to oblivion in order to garner more likes and fleeting approval from a digital self esteem high. 

Unfiltered. Bright lights. Truth. Tell your story. Share your scars. 

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To see what stories were shared, check out the video below: