WHERE DOES “REKALLABRATE” COME FROM?

WHERE DOES “REKALLABRATE” COME FROM?

You might be asking yourself, “What does ‘REKALLABRATE’ even mean and where does it come from?” Allow me to explain.

For those of you who don’t already know, my name is KALLA. Pronounced Kal-uh. Not Kayla, not Kallah, KAL-UH. Like super-kalla-fragilistic-expialidocious. Or Kalla-mari.

My parents were going to name me “Ashley” or “Brittany” or “Jessica,” but said that when I came out of the womb, none of those names fit me. So, I was unnamed for nearly a week until my dad started demanding that my mom come up with a name so they could leave the hospital. My mom saw the name “Calla” in the baby book & changed it to “Kalla.” (She and her sisters all have K names.) My dad exclaimed, “Kalla Paige! She can be anything she wants with that name!”

I was reminded of that fact my whole life. Bless my parents. They would say, “We named you Kalla so you can be ANYTHING you want in the world.” They always encouraged me in everything I did, telling me that I could even be the first female president if I wanted to be.

I hated my name growing up, mostly because no one would pronounce it & kids would make fun of me. But now I absolutely love my name. I can’t imagine a better name for myself. So, when I was trying to think of a “brand” name for myself, I knew I wanted it to reflect my name somehow.

 Hence, reKALLAbrate.

I spent months, maybe even a year, sitting on what to call myself. Nothing was coming to me. I knew that I wanted to start a “brand” to start sharing my thoughts, but I didn’t know what to call myself.

Back in 2020, I was tired of waiting for a brand name to come to me. I was on a mission to start putting myself out there more on the internet.

In a weird turn of events, Kobe Bryant died the morning after I had a profound LSD journey & I was oddly struck with grief. I had this realization that we are all going to die, so why not let it all hang out and really let myself be seen? I started posting every day on my personal Instagram account. Most of it was pretty lighthearted, or just personal to my experience here on planet earth.

Then, COVID happened (or as I like to call it, “co-co,” so as to avoid censorship). & right from the jump, I just had a feeling that something wasn’t right.

So, I made a post about it. I compared the numbers at the time to things like car accidents, lightning strikes, and the flu.

People did not like that. In fact, they hated it.

I got absolutely blasted on my Instagram page. Not by strangers, but by people that I had grown up with, people I considered friends, people I had worked with. They insulted my intelligence, called me a killer, mocked me, & in some cases even ended our friendship. It was outrageous. & I couldn’t hang.

So, I got off the internet. I abandoned my posting challenge & I just shut the fuck up.

It was in this silence that it came to me—REKALLABRATE. That was it. Now, I just had to define it.

I looked up a lot of definitions of the word “recalibrate”—most of them being scientific. I ultimately came to the conclusion that, to me, to “rekallabrate” meant “to change the way you do or think about something.” It was a verb. & if you’re like me, we naturally do this all of the time.

I liked this word—this brand name—because to me it allowed me the freedom to talk about anything & everything. I don’t want to put myself in a box as someone who only talks about politics, or grief, or love, or relationships. I want to be able to talk about it all—the entirety of the human experience. Because it is all related, & it is all important. I felt that the name “rekallabrate” allowed me to do just that—share anything & everything I could ever want to talk about.

So, I started a new Instagram page & got back on the internet. I didn’t even know what I was doing, I just knew I wanted to share. So, that’s what I did. I started talking about my personal experiences, my thoughts on the government, how I viewed the world.

I posted on my old Instagram account that anyone who was interested in what I had to say could come over to my new account—a space where I felt safer to share my real, true thoughts & feelings. Some people came along for the ride—most didn’t. & you know what? I’m okay with that.

I still share a lot of my thoughts & feelings on the internet, but now I also share about my brand & other offerings. (You can read about how the brand “Rekallabrate” got started in another upcoming blog post.)

It has been a really beautiful journey for me. I have met some really amazing people through sharing the truth of who I am. Some people I only know virtually, but I have been blessed to meet some people in person whom I first only knew through the internet. As much as I believe that technology can be the devil, it can also be a beautiful gift & tool for connecting likeminded people.

I have been lucky in that I have avoided a lot of controversy on the internet, despite my page being riddled with it. It’s like God knew that I needed a safe little bubble in which to express myself. But I know that I won’t always be so lucky.

I know that as I grow in followers & influence, I am going to ruffle some feathers. I know that the designs I have in the works are going to make some people very angry because they challenge the status quo—they challenge the beliefs people have grown comfortable in.

But I’m not here to make people comfortable.

I’m here to shake shit up.

To REKALLABRATE, if you will.

& sometimes that isn’t easy. In fact, it can be really hard & uncomfortable.

But it’s worth it. On the other side of our limiting beliefs & what we’ve been taught to believe is freedom & truth. I’m here for THAT.

Thank you for joining me on this journey of self-discovery. I appreciate your support so much. Whether it be buying my products, sharing my posts, or simply following along on my journey & sharing your love, it all means so much to me & keeps me moving forward with my mission.

Thank you for being here. You are love(d).