For the Ones Still Finding Their Voice, Identity, and Place in This World

Welcome to The Unapologetic Thread™ where I write freely about my identity journey, my neurodivergence experience as a brown woman, my caregiving journey (I'm a caregiver and spouse to a combat veteran), workplace bullshit, career pivoting/job loss, parenting as a neurodivergent mom of a neurodivergent teen, family, relationships, and all things life, including the good and the bad.

Oh, and almost forgot: I’m Itzel. A freckled, curly-haired, autistic, ADHD NeuroCaribeña™ and brown woman (because for me, the Latina label was never enough). I'm an identity strategist, caregiver, PhD candidate, and entrepreneur hustling day to day to make my business a thriving one, a space where multi-role women and neurodivergent women of color can unpack, breathe, and lead with their whole, unapologetic selves.

A little about me: I came to America when I was 9. I’m Panamanian and Spanish (and more). I’m vegan (I love animals), and I have two Frenchies who are truly my therapy animals. As an AuDHDer, I stim, I’m inattentive at times, I need rest after long social events, I take time to process things, and I often struggle with anxiety and depression, yet I’ve learned to live with it.

What’s remarkable is that I launched my consulting business right in the midst of a layoff (and yes, the second one hit harder, fucking DEI cuts are particularly brutal). Like, who in their right mind does that? Someone told me about Substack, and I was like, “Huh? What even is that?” But I jumped in anyway.

And my hope? That this space becomes a lifeline not just for me, but for you. A place where you can see yourself. A place where people can learn about me, my work, and maybe feel called to invest in my services, share a referral, or support this journey through a paid subscription. Like many, I want financial freedom, not luxury, just stability. To not live in constant stress about bills. To support my family with dignity and care.

And if you do subscribe? You’re not just supporting a business; you’re helping a real family stay afloat in systems that often deny opportunities and success to people like me.

Anyway, I digress…

To be honest, I’m just so happy to be writing again. Writing has saved me on many occasions. It’s my healing practice, my rebellion, and my love language. My hope is that it reaches someone, some woman out there who needs to feel seen, validated, and reminded she’s not alone.

So if you are:

• The high-capacity, heart-heavy woman juggling too much

• The neurodivergent leader masking through Zoom calls

• The brown girl who never had the language, but always had the weight

• The one who feeds everyone else while skipping meals

• The sacred disruptor, quiet rage-holder, or identity griever

Please sit back, relax, and enjoy my words.

I don’t sugarcoat. I don’t pretend. I don’t write for algorithms.
This is my authentic voice, and I promise you’ll feel it.

What You’ll Get as a Subscriber:

✨ Weekly(ish) raw reflections on identity, burnout, culture, work, grief, healing, and the intersections no one talks about
💌 Ask Itzel — honest advice on ND chaos, boundaries, guilt, leadership, family, and emotional survival
🎧 For paid subscribers only: voice notes and one tool each month (like rituals, identity-mapping prompts, and sacred clapbacks) to walk you through the mess and the magic

Your paid subscription supports not only content, but also my livelihood, creative labor, and my family. I’m the sole breadwinner while caregiving for a post-9/11 combat vet and raising a neurodivergent teen. I'm not running this brand from a beach in Bali. I’m writing in between caregiving, healing, surviving layoffs, and building something from scratch.

If you’ve ever felt like you didn’t fit...
If you’ve had to code-switch just to survive...
If your kindness has been mistaken for weakness...
If you’ve been called extra, emotional, or told you can’t “take one for the team”...

Then I invite you to read. And if it resonates, consider becoming a paid subscriber ($5/month).

Oh, and if you are curious about my consulting practice and everything else I do, check out my Beacons, where all my links live: Beacons

Here, your anger is sacred.
Your story matters.

Let’s unmask. Let’s unfold.

With grit & grace,
Itzel