Another beautiful soul has accepted the challenge to be one of Scar Power’s featured Scarlights! Meet our May 2022 Scarlight, Chantel P. from Alberta Canada!
My Scars to Confidence Facebook Group continues to give! I am so grateful for the opportunity to meet many amazing women, including this one! Our stories help heal, and I started my Scarlight Platform to help women be a guiding light for other women.
Thank you, Chantel, for shining your light for others to follow!
Here is Chantel’s story in her own words.
Chantel’s Story
“At the age of 3, I was caught in a basement house fire with my 4-year-old brother at the time. The entire basement was engulfed in flames, and it took quite some time for the firefighters to get us out. Unfortunately, my brother didn’t survive due to the severity of his burns and smoke inhalation. I was left with severe burns all over my upper body. The doctors weren’t even sure that I would survive, and if I did, they thought I would be blind. I had to have two skin grafts done on my stomach and ribs because the burns were so big and so severe.
Growing up, I didn’t know what it was like to not have my scars. That was normal to me. But children always made me feel as if it was wrong – as if I were gross and they could catch something from me. The kids picked on me in horrible ways all the way up to high school, and so for many years, I hid my scars at ALL costs. The clothes I wore always had to cover them. I refused to wear a bikini and most often just avoided swimming all together. This led me to prewarn boys I was dating so as not to “freak them out” if they ever saw my scars. I lived in a constant state of apology around my scars and after having my daughter, they got worse. My scars cover most of my abdomen and chest – my belly button is almost nonexistent. The pregnancy made my scars more painful, both physically and emotionally. Afterwards, I had stretchmarks everywhere!
My Reminder
This served to remind me that I could never be the standard of beauty in our society. And though that was hard to reconcile with, I look down at my daughter every day, and am reminded of the miracle that I brought into the world. I would never want to her to hate her body the way I had hated mine. So, I had to grow. And as I grew personally and healed from the trauma of the fire, I began loving my scars!
After years of meeting with doctors to find out how to get rid of them, I finally decided that I would keep them! They were part of me, and I couldn’t imagine them not being there. I recently wrote a chapter in a multi-author book titled, Lineage Speaks – Women Healing Generations Past, Present and Future, recalling my story about the house fire. I met the man who saved me, was interviewed by the fire department, and became an honorary guest!
Through meeting him, and many others who had been there the day my life was saved – seeing the tears in their eyes because I was alive, to now being here as an adult with my own daughter – was a full circle moment. I knew I was here to do big things in this world and that my scars were part of my work! I am a Divine Feminine coach for women, guiding them in remembering, reclaiming, and embodying their unique Magick! This involves self-love, body love, and empowerment to bring women back home to themselves!”
Questions for Chantel
- Why do you want to be featured in a Scarlight?
“To share my story so that other women can feel safe to step into the light and share theirs. So that other women feel safe and seen, loved and accepted.”
- How has your story shaped your life’s perspective?
“It has helped me to have compassion for others, no matter who they are. I realized how much pain I was in. Most people had no idea about what was happening under the surface. We are all doing the best we can, and we can’t always know what someone is dealing with. It also gave me so much gratitude for being here on this earth. I used to feel guilt for surviving, but through healing, I realized I get to choose what I do with my story.”
- What steps did you take and/or tools you used to overcome how you felt about your scars? If you have not yet, why?
“Healing from the trauma of the fire, the loss of my brother, and the ramifications on my family afterwards were key to overcoming the pain. I needed to release my guilt for surviving, allow myself to mourn the brother I lost, the trauma it all caused, and the anger I felt at my mother for what happened and how she treated me afterwards. Then it was so much self-love, nurturing myself and my body – loving and sending love to my body daily, thanking it for all it does for me each day, its ability to carry my daughter, to move the way I ask, to be the only thing that is with me every single day for my entire life.”
- What is the most important thing that you have learned about yourself through your journey?
“I was never meant to be like everyone else. I was meant to stand out, to be different, and to show other women that being different is our superpower!
- What is one lesson that you can share with others that will inspire them?
“We are souls having a human experience. Our bodies are the vessel that we get to use on this earth to experience so much. All the standards are just things someone who wanted to make money from decided were acceptable, but we don’t have to take on any standard that does now allow us to flourish! YOU get to decide what feels good and empowering to you, and if something hurts, you haven’t found your truth in it because you are beautiful and worthy, always! You were born worthy and beautiful; no scar will ever change that – but it can enhance that, because when we embrace these things as our superpowers, that energy emanates from us, and it becomes magnetic!
Thank You!
It is always a pleasure to meet new women and learn their stories. Thank you again, Chantel, for blessing us with your truth and guiding us on our own journeys.
I hope Chantel’s story is an encouragement to you all!
-Ameerah
Please feel free to comment below!