• Kambua explained that she has learnt to accept the things she cannot change
Image: courtesy
Singer Kambua says she regained her confidence with her skin while in college.
She developed acne at age 17 and that left her devastated.
Sharing her story with Darling Kenya, Kambua said she has learnt to accept things she cannot change.
"People always ask me how I can put myself out there. The truth is I have learnt to accept the things I can't change and focus on those I can," she said.
"Fresh out of high school, I went through what I imagined could have been the worst thing a young woman could go through. I developed acne.
"I am not just talking about little breakouts here and there; I am talking about full-blown-out acne. "
Although she had seen her friends face the same, she couldn't relate as she thought she had silky soft skin. Suddenly things changed and she was traumatised.
"I remember my parents trying to help me get treatment and a solution. I remember many opportunities I missed out coz my confidence had been knocked down," she said.
Kambua said at the time, she didn't want to be around people as she feared their opinions and stares. "I moved on to college and as I navigated my life and my skin, I realised I couldn't allow something that was beyond my control to define who I am."
She slowly began to regain her confidence and found her voice whenever people would ask about her skin.
"I learnt to speak for myself. I am in my mid-30s and in the public. Sometimes I get on screen with aggravated skin and I want to hide," she said.
"But I remind myself, I am Kambua, beautiful and I am not the skin that I am in, I am enough. Confidence is choosing yourself every day with your flaws."
Kambua said our values define us and not the things that people use to define us.