The story behind
“I grew up feeling free to be everything I am,
without feeling the pressure to be anything I’m not.”
I’m Thomas, and this is the story of how Space to Be unfolded.
1. Growing up
I grew up feeling the freedom to be everything I am,
without feeling the pressure to be anything I’m not.
For a long time, I simply thought that was normal.
Looking back, I now realise what a gift that truly was.
As a child, I was given space to explore life in my own way — curious, playful, sensitive, social, and fully myself. I was never made to feel that I needed to become someone different in order to belong, succeed, or be accepted.
2. Realising not everyone experienced that freedom.
Only later in life did I begin to realise how many people don’t experience that same freedom.
As I grew older, I became curious about where the joy and freedom I felt in life came from. The more I reflected on it, the more I realised how much it was connected to the space I had been given as a child to simply be myself.
At the same time, I started noticing that many people around me hadn’t experienced that same freedom.
3. The moment everything connected.
One memory in particular has stayed with me.
Several years ago, my mum and I were looking through old school photographs from primary school.
Everyone in the photo looked neat and well dressed. Their hair was done nicely, and they looked ready for school photo day.
Then I found myself.
I was sitting right at the front wearing a tracksuit with colours that definitely didn’t match, my hair all over the place.
I looked at my mum and asked,
“How could you send me to school looking like that on school photo day?”
She laughed and replied,
“That’s not what we wanted you to wear. That’s exactly what you wanted to wear yourself.”
I remember that moment well.
At first I was surprised by her answer.
Then something deeper landed.
4. Why Space to Be exists today.
My parents had never made me feel that I needed to look a certain way, behave a certain way, or become someone different in order to be accepted.
They gave me the freedom to be myself.
What I once thought was normal, I began to realise was actually a gift.
And over time, I became more aware of how rare that gift can be.
At the same time, I noticed that people naturally felt comfortable sharing themselves with me.
Not because I had all the answers, but because they felt space to simply be honest, open, and human, without being judged for it.
The space I was given became the gift I love to share with others.
This is simply my story.
If it feels right, I’d love to hear yours.
