Can I Come In? Yesly Dimate on Trauma, Wellness & the End of Self-Apology: Inside Sarah Bahbah’s new series

Photos Courtesy of @yesly / @sarahbahbah / @canicomeinproject

Sarah Bahbah has long been a master of making the private feel cinematic. But with Can I Come In?, her latest series with WePresent, the artist-director takes her signature intimacy to a new level - inviting audiences not just to witness, but to inhabit the emotional landscapes of six women navigating life’s rawest truths, and let me just say, it felt very close to home.

The series is a genre-defying hybrid - not quite a documentary, not a podcast, and certainly not a conventional interview. Instead, it exists somewhere more fluid and radical. Each episode, starring figures like Mia Khalifa, Liza Soberano, and BANKS, unfolds as a lushly shot meditation on trauma, identity, and resilience. Among these voices is one of our favorite content creator Yesly Dimate, yes you read that right - her episode explores something rarely discussed in the influencer space: the quiet, persistent ache of imposter syndrome, and the complicated road to self-acceptance.

From Content to Confession

Yesly Dimate’s digital presence has always radiated confidence. To her hundreds of thousands of followers, she is beauty, wellness, and motivation personified. But in Can I Come In?, stripped of performance and framed with softness, a different version of Yesly emerges - one who is finally ready to admit that it hasn’t always been okay, and that being “well” is often a daily decision, not a permanent state.

In her episode, Yesly opens up about surviving abuse, raising her siblings as a teenager, and the deep-rooted imposter syndrome that followed her into every room she once dreamed of being in. “

I felt like I had to earn my place in every room I entered - even online,” she confesses. “And even when I did, I still felt like a fraud.”

Together, they unpack what it means to take up space after years of being told you’re too much, how anxiety distorts our self-worth, and the healing that begins when we stop apologising for who we are. In Bahbah’s lush visual language, these confessions don’t feel like oversharing—they feel like art. And that’s the point. This is a story about reclaiming power, breaking silence, and learning to see yourself as whole, even when the intrusive voices tell you otherwise.

Healing in a Hyper-Visible World

For women like Yesly, whose careers are built on public vulnerability, navigating wellness isn’t as simple as journaling or green juice. It’s about constantly negotiating visibility with authenticity, performance with peace. Can I Come In? cracks open that space and lets the complexity breathe.

Rather than romanticizing healing, the series lingers in the ambiguity of it. Yesly isn’t offering a “before and after.” She’s offering a during. Her voice, raw and grounded, speaks to the millions of creators who feel like they’re constantly chasing validation in an industry that rarely pauses long enough for honesty.

“I’m Not Apologizing Anymore”

One of the most striking moments in Yesly’s episode is when she declares, calmly but firmly, that she’s done apologizing for who she is. It’s a statement that lands with weight—not because it’s loud, but because it’s earned. This episode is deeply needed in today’s world. Whether you’re an influencer or not, watching it brings so many emotions to the surface. It’s already hard enough to survive in a society that’s constantly changing, chaotic, and demanding—especially when so much of our time is spent online. But having to apologize for simply being yourself? That should never be one of the things we carry. We all hold so much uniqueness within us, and that should be celebrated—not treated as a flaw or a lack.

Yesly has always been someone I’ve admired for her beauty in “just being.” She has consistently come across as authentic online. But seeing her this honest and vulnerable, opening up about her hardships, was both heartbreaking and powerful. It made me fall in love with her even more. I realized why her presence has always calmed me in a way I couldn’t previously explain—it’s because her content is raw, playful, fun. That’s the truest version of Yesly. She had to grow up fast, raising her siblings and carrying adult responsibilities before her time. So now, she’s slowly rebuilding the playful, carefree side of herself that she didn’t get to explore when she was younger. Watching her reclaim that in her life, especially with the support of her husband, Tony Özkan is incredibly beautiful.

Yesly (& Sarah Bahbah) , thank you for opening up in such a magnificent way. You have no idea how many hearts you’ve touched - and how many more you will continue to reach, as you step further into who you truly are. These words from Sarah Bahbah, speaking on the series, says it all

“This time, I wasn’t creating from my own emotional archive. I was constructing visual sanctuaries for someone else’s truth to be liberated.” With Yesly, that sanctuary becomes a mirror—not just for the influencer herself, but for an entire generation of women trying to make peace with their story."