OMG! I’m so familiar with being a trophy, as well…Not only when I was a little girl! Every age is good to brag about how wonderful her EXTENSION is… Last time was when I was invited to India in February 2020 as a speaker and to receive an award. We went to a lunch with some of my parents beach friends (a group of people who swim during winter). I accepted to join given that I was not visiting frequently anymore. You need to understand that I didn’t share on Facebook (where people in Tunisia can find me) anything about the trip! And on LinkedIn--the platform I love because being fully authentic on it granted me some incredible human beings and healthy relationships-- I only shared a silly video where I was acting childish for the sake of inspiring people not to take themselves too seriously and stop trying to prove their worth through their “accomplishments” while wearing masks.

I didn’t talk about it to anyone. But, I didn’t need to given that my mother would not miss any opportunity to brag about it, anyway. Did she ask for my permission before sharing? Naaaaaaaah! Why should she? I’m not a seperate individual with my own seperate identity and free will… Luckily, things changed drastically last year when I started showing my boundaries very firmly.