Where My Voice Didn't Sound Like Me
I’ve never really been into using AI for my work.
My work feels intuitive. It moves through my body first. It’s energetic. So the idea of letting a machine analyze it felt… strange.
But I got curious.
Before I did anything, I set a clear intention.
AI is here to support, not replace my intuition
Then, playfully, I sent Astraea (yes, I name my “AI) my website and my YouTube channel and asked for feedback.
I honestly didn’t expect much.
But what came back made me pause.
It said my website voice feels warm, welcoming and supportive.
And my YouTube voice?
Strong. Direct. Activating.
It said there’s a mismatch.
Not fake. Not inauthentic.
Just… different levels of intensity.
And when I read that, I felt it in my chest.
Because it’s true.
I’ve known it for a while.
Somewhere along the way, I softened my writing.
I made it gentler. Safer.
Not because I’m not powerful.
But because I didn’t want to scare people.
Didn’t want to be misunderstood.
Didn’t want to come off as “too much.”
There’s a quiet part of me that still wants to be easy to receive.
And I can see how that showed up in my brand.
The strange thing is — when I speak, I don’t hold back like that.
On YouTube, I say the thing.
I challenge.
I activate.
I shift identity.
I don’t cushion it.
So why was I cushioning it in writing?
That question stayed with me for a while.
And the answer wasn’t dramatic.
It was subtle.
Writing lives longer.
It feels more permanent.
It’s easier to be quoted, screenshot, misunderstood.
So I softened it.
I made it warmer.
More reassuring.
But here’s what hit me:
My work isn’t meant to keep people comfortable.
It’s meant to move them.
And movement isn’t always soft.
It’s clear.
It’s direct.
It asks something of you.
I realized that softening my voice doesn’t make me more loving.
It just makes me less aligned.
And that’s a harder truth to sit with.
This wasn’t AI giving me permission to change.
It just reflected something I was already feeling.
It held up a mirror.
And I recognized myself.
My spoken voice feels embodied.
Grounded.
Certain.
My written voice has been negotiating.
That ends here.
Not because I want to be louder.
But because I want to be congruent.
This feels less like a marketing shift and more like taking my power back in small, honest ways.
I’m sharing this as it’s happening.
Because I don’t want to pretend I’ve always been fully expressed.
I haven’t.
I’ve been evolving.
And maybe you have too.
If you’ve been softening your voice so you’re easier to receive…
Maybe it’s time to ask why.
Not to become harsher.
Just to become more yourself.