MEET YOUR DREAM-BELIEVING MUSE

Jessica Upchurch-King

I’ve been a dreamer since I was a little girl, with my first dream of becoming a collegiate basketball player. I always thought I would live in the gym as a P.E. teacher and basketball coach.

I also once thought love would be easy. But when I realized I was a queer woman, that dream suddenly felt distant—especially growing up in the Bible Belt. As the oldest sibling and a role model to so many little girls, whether in my home or watching from the bleachers, I took that role seriously. I didn’t want to let anyone down. So, I hid myself instead.

That hiding brought anxiety, depression, and a heavy habit of feeling deeply—without ever letting those feelings out. I wasn’t running from hate as much as I was running from the fear of disappointing the people I loved most. I focused on the fear of rejection instead of trusting in the power of unconditional love.

Thankfully, I was raised in a home where that kind of love eventually caught up with me. And that’s why I now live by the simple but radical belief: Come as you are. Because I know how hard it feels when you think you aren’t enough, and how magical life becomes when you believe you are.

That belief has followed me through every chapter of my story so far. It’s what led me to pack up and teach P.E. in Uganda and China, traveling to over 20+ countries. It’s what whispered to me when I first felt the nudge to start a nonprofit, even as I wrestled with thoughts like “I’m not smart enough.”

But because of my wife’s belief in me—and the Spirit’s quiet reminder that YOU ARE—it was the beginning of a movement for women and girls around the world, rooted in the message I’ve needed most: that we are enough, capable, and loved, exactly as we are.

I don’t always have the answers. I still doubt. I still dream big and sometimes get it wrong. But I keep choosing trust. And I keep showing up.

If anything I’ve lived through helps you feel a little freer, a little bolder—I hope my words become a muse for your own unfolding. Because you don’t have to wait to be more, do more, or know more to matter.

You are worthy right here, right now.

Come as YOU ARE.
I’m rooting for you.

A FEW THINGS I SHOW UP AS:

Chief Visionary

Leading a solution for equal opportunities for women and girls facing extreme poverty, YOU ARE has provided safe housing and access to school for over 25 girls in Uganda.