"My name i..." 

You're just saying your name, it's not that difficult. 

"is...Hasini."

 I then stared at the ground, at my reliable rainbow sketchers sneakers as my voice wavered. I thought I was pathetic. I was already seven and was supposed to be a mature, self-sufficient, young-lady-like 1st grader, yet I couldn't even say my name right.  It felt like someone turning off my tap of oxygen while stuffing 20 potato chips in my mouth. 

And each time I stayed silent, a crack spread across the mirror of my self-identity. 

The mirror cracked when you couldn’t say my name when someone asked.  It cracked when I couldn't ask the cashier for an extra napkin. It cracked when I avoided eye contact with smiling teachers and excited new friends. However, it cracked the most when I knew the answer to a question in class, but I was too scared to raise my hand because of blundering my words. At the end, the mirror was left in shattered fragments. When I looked into it, I could only see crude shards of insecurity, doubt and fear. 

 I always struggled with stuttering. Piece by piece, I reshaped the mirror by whispering silent words, reading aloud to my family and watching public speaking tutorials on Youtube. The same voice that stumbled over my own name now became a TEDx speaker and Top 20 in the world for presenting my business solution in the international career development conference. I didn’t just learn how to speak. I learned to risk. I learned to change. The now complete mirror didn’t reflect a perfect image, but a resilient one. 

However, progress felt incomplete if it was limited to just me. I wanted underserved students in my community to experience the same progress and to learn that risk and initiative is a catalyst for growth. This belief led me to found The Genesis Initiative, a state-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit advocating for financial literacy and entrepreneurship through an annual Shark Tank–style competition.

However, I also noticed kids who struggled with public speaking, just as I used to. I didn’t want anyone else’s mirror to break in silence. I built Yappyy, an AI public speaking coach, so that underrepresented kids could get the support that they deserved. 

The girl who once struggled to say “Hasini” speaks so others can say their own. Through my projects, I turned my reflection into a ripple. I don’t wait for change, I create it.