Threads Worldwide has changed my life.

I have known one truth since I was a little girl: I wanted to be a mother. It’s the only thing I have ever been 100% certain about. I couldn’t wait.

So when I launched my career eight years ago, I did the closest thing to motherhood I could think of. I became a teacher. I loved those little kiddos like they were my own children, tied their shoes, hugged them when they were tearful, coached them to become readers and dreamers and independent thinkers. And it was enough, this growing and shaping of young minds; it gave me hope and energy and made me feel like I was caring for the world.

And then, I lost myself. My childhood bouts of sadness had returned with force, and I became too depressed to function. I went to bed each night stressed beyond my capacity, exhausted beyond repair, unable to care for myself. My body was broken, and motherhood seemed out of reach as I was having difficulty becoming pregnant.

It was in this moment of despair and desperation to try and save myself that two life-changing events happened. I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder, and I made a new friend who asked me to host one of her very first Threads parties. I accepted Taryn Schroeder’s invitation with reservations but found myself drawn back to Threads again and again. Six months later, I was six months pregnant, learning to care for myself and in the midst of intensive therapy. Taryn asked me what I thought about becoming a Fair Trade Partner, and to my own shock, I said yes to the adventure.

This leap of faith has led me to a place where I spend the majority of my time with my now-almost-six-month-old adorable daughter, it has allowed me to walk away from my full-time teaching job, and it has brought me into a world of empowered and beautiful souls – women who are like me, searching, dreaming and becoming what we always had the potential to be. Threads has challenged me to be my authentic self and create a vision for my life that aligns to my wise mind. I am caring for others and myself all at once.

Threads has brought hope back into my life, and I am an infinitely better version of myself because of it. I am so grateful for this chance.

– Carly