Community Highlights: Meet Ava Kulkarni of The Unshakeable Girl

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ava Kulkarni.

Hi Ava, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Just like many people, I’ve endured a lot of criticism and bullying for a list of different reasons from: my body type to academic performance to color of my skin by people that I once thought loved me dearly. Oh boy, I was so wrong! Instead of helping and encouraging me, these bullies pushed me further down the path of self-destruction and mental illness. They made me question my self-worth and if I’m ever going to be good enough for anyone. For years, I struggled with voicing my opinion and being heard and seen, to being accepted into social groups. Until as I grew older, I had a spiritual awakening that made me zoom into deep life topics and led me to question my existence as an individual soul and helped me be aligned with my higher self. It gave me a sense of direction and courage to accept myself for exactly who I am and to step into my true self to show the world the real me without any fear of judgment or criticism. This very action of self-acceptance and self-love liberated me and helped me understand my self-worth and regain my self-confidence. My life experiences are a testimony of my strength that I not only made it through but now use my experience and lessons to help others through coaching.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not a smooth road. Some of the challenges I faced along the way were:

1. Being bullied for being underweight. It’s true that underweight people do get bullied and discriminated against as well but this concern is not often talked about. Growing up I struggled with pretty fast metabolism which lead me to be down to skin and bones no matter how much I ate.

2. While growing up in Indian culture there were set parental and cultural pressure and expectations to be a doctor, lawyer, and engineer. If you’re not any of these three then basically you’re no body. So to be honest I wasn’t one of the smartest kids out there while growing up. Academically speaking I’ve always been an average student and did my best and faired well in my studies but in the eyes of the society and parents I wasn’t good and smart enough and been demeaned for my IQ and school grades.

3. As the years passed and as I grew older and moved places I was then outcasted for much bigger things like skin color, race, and gender.

As you know, we’re big fans of The Unshakeable Girl . For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I am a self-love coach who helps people who struggle with self-love, self-worth, and self-acceptance to become more self-confident and self-caring individuals by empowering them to live their best authentic selves.

I do this because I want to help people like you and me who have been beaten down by our culture to fit into this idea of being “perfect” individuals. I am on a mission to redefine the word “perfect” as outlined by our culture. Our culture has these set standards of perfection for beauty, body image, lifestyle, IQ, and many more things. Anyone that falls outside of these standards is bullied and labeled as ugly, fat, dumb, poor, etc. As individuals seeking love and recognition, we give it our all to meet the outlined cultural standards, but sometimes no matter what we do, we are just unable to make everyone happy, which tends to put us in a distraught state of mind that further gives rise to serious mental health issues. This does affect our self-confidence, self-worth, and self-esteem. We are just ordinary human beings with each of our unique gifts and flaws. I am here to spread the message that what makes us “perfect” is accepting and loving ourselves for exactly the way we are and to help people find and fall in love with their true selves. So, are you with me?

If you’re somebody seeking help in these above mentioned areas then feel free to visit and contact me via my website:
https://theunshakeablegirl.com/

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
It’s not going to be easy but know it’s not impossible either. Never give up on your dream no matter of the negative opinions of others. You Got This! It may take a few years to be fully established as a brand but it’s worth the struggle and wait!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://theunshakeablegirl.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ava.kulkarni?igsh=YWgyaGEzYXZ3OWxp
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/196B41REbi/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@wellnessisgoodness1904

Image Credits:
Ava Kulkarni