Meet Kasey Miles, Tomorrow Woman facilitator

Kasey Miles

Tomorrow Woman facilitator

Too loud? Too bossy? That’s what some people called Kasey Miles. So she edited herself just to fit in. Not anymore. That was then. Now, the 28-year-old Tomorrow Woman facilitator shares her experiences in workshops to empower other women be their authentic selves too

A journey begins

My passion for the mental health space started in my first year at Otago Uni in New Zealand.

I felt overwhelmed at different times, but I was really overwhelmed by how many of my friends or people in my life were struggling. I remember feeling so fearful because I didn’t know where to start to help them with what they were going through.

I was studying psychology and was a student leader and volunteer at the student welfare department. The manager knew I was passionate about the space, and a couple of students had taken their lives. 

So we started a program to give people a chance to reach out and talk about what they were going through and learn skills to support each other.

After I moved to Sydney and made the switch to corporate work, I contacted Tomorrow Man/Tomorrow Woman wanting to volunteer to keep my finger on the pulse. There were no volunteer opportunities, but they were about to expand to Sydney from Melbourne and I jumped at the chance to join them.

Kasey’s ‘why’?

My ‘why’ for doing this constantly evolves as I go through things. 

The ‘why’ I started doing this was definitely what my friends were going through and navigating that at uni. Later, there were times in my life I was told I was too loud or too bossy. I had to dial my authentic self down, and it took a toll on me.

So my ‘why’ became about reaffirming the message – you don’t have to dial yourself down or change who you are to fit in.

I want every woman to be able to be herself and feel incredibly proud of that.

My journey of figuring that out for myself led me to the work we do in that space at Tomorrow Woman.

I feel excited by the nerves I get before some presentations, because my ‘why’ feels so close to my heart.

I get to step into a room and deliver that powerful message. You can hear and see and feel the change in front of you. For some people we are connecting with, it’s the first time they have been able to share. After those conversations, I leave the workshop feeling so proud of what we do.

Supporting others, supporting self

Something I have learnt about this work is that we learn so much about ourselves as we do it. I work on my own mental fitness. I studied psychology, but I still see a psychologist regularly. Looking after my body is important to me too. I’m training for a half marathon. Moving my body helps quieten my mind. And connecting with people around me, whether at work or catching up with friends and family, is important too.

I remember going to a tiny rural school in Batlow that was severely impacted by the bushfires. There were five students in the workshop.

One student talked about the expectation around how our bodies should look. She couldn’t look in the mirror without feeling hatred for her body.

That pressure around body image and how we look is so real and impacts us as women.

We went back the next year. Another student talked about how the expectation stopped her from wearing the clothes she wanted to, and how every time she went outside, she just wanted to stay inside, jump in bed and cover up.

The student who had spoken up the year before raised her hand and said, ‘I completely related to you. It was this workshop that changed my thinking. I now see my body as a beautiful home for me. I would love to keep talking to you about this’.

The conversation she had with us had helped her shift her relationship with her body, and now she wanted to help others do the same. 

That’s a message I want to leave behind. I want all women to feel they can be unapologetically themselves.

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