Released over the summer of 2025, Sarah Bahbah’s Can I Come In? is a beautiful mixture of a podcast, a documentary, and a visual art piece. Every two weeks, a new episode was released, introducing six guests total, or “hosts” as the viewer is welcomed into their lives. The lineup was a remarkable group of women, each one ready to share a story from their life or open up on the journey of how the events in their life forced them to contort to survive.
With every new storyteller, the viewer learns more about the gracious and welcoming guest, Sarah Bahbah, as well. She built each home to house the secrets and confessions of the six women, and with her artistic direction, created spaces that have no fourth wall. Will you come in?
Mia Khalifa: Why We Romanticize People Who Need Saving
Mia Khalifa, aka Sarah Joe, a known model and influencer, was the first guest of the Can I Come In? series, or rather, the first to invite Bahbah in. She welcomes the viewer as she opens up about a tale of love that once was and why it went wrong. Adorned in and surrounded by red, Khalifa tells her love story honestly and with a thoughtfulness that can benefit anyone looking to be in a relationship, as well as those who already are. She delves into who she hoped her partner would become, putting in work for those who don’t want to change, and filling up someone else’s cup while leaving yours empty. Khalifa’s episode offers lessons on sexual freedom, building boundaries, and turning f-you into bless you.
Standout quote from Khalifa: “The lesson I learned from this relationship, are that, no love given is ever wasted. Everybody deserves love and sympathy and empathy and support and encouragement. But the other side of that lesson is, you can’t help somebody who likes their problems.”
Standout quote from Bahbah: “Your garden is in full bloom. In order to protect it, you have to be cautious of who you let in, but still let people in. And instead of pulling out all your flowers at once and giving it to them and giving them everything that you’ve done to them, you let them come in and you sit with them, and you have a picnic, and you watch how they treat your garden.”
Yesly Dimate: How Anxiety Makes You Believe You’re Not Enough
Yesly Dimate became a known name on TikTok years ago, with viewers watching her grow as a person and work through the struggles that were presented to her. Within her episode, she opens up about the part of her life before everyone knew her name. Dimate starts her story in Montreal, where she lived with her stepdad and younger siblings, living as their mother while hers was in Colombia. During this time, she faced hardships no child should have to face. Throughout the episode, Dimate approaches every question from Bahbah with true thought and opens up about overcoming anxiety, imposter syndrome, and superiority. Steeped in vulnerability, every word in this piece is advice to reflect on and take on the daily mission of living unapologetically.
Standout quote from Dimate: “Hey! I’m calling because I wanted to tell you that I love you very much. And I’m very proud of all the work you’ve done. I wish you could see yourself today. I really, really do. Because, yeah, you would not believe this, actually. It’s crazy. Everything that you’ve accomplished. And I hope that you never give up on what you love and what you want to be someday.” – A phone call with her younger self.
Standout quote from Bahbah: “When people say, we’re too much, it’s because they don’t have the courage or the love to be as loud as we are. So instead they try to shrink us down and say, be more like me because I can’t be like you.”
Please note: Dimate’s episode of Can I Come In? contains a trigger warning for conversations revolving around child sexual abuse, domestic abuse, and substance abuse.
Nemahsis: The Most Powerful Man In The Room Was Afraid Of Me.
Nemah, aka Nemahsis, stands as an outspoken artist who knows her beliefs and isn’t willing to step down when they are challenged. As a Palestinian woman and hijabi, Nemahsis knows she’s different from others in a room, and she also knows that it is her greatest quality. In the third episode of Can I Come In?, she starts at the beginning – her first time wearing a hijab and how it redefined her as a person and gave her a protective mask. This piece also explores experiences of romantic love, building self-love, and the worth that women are shown by the public. Halfway through, Nemah seamlessly slips the episode from an interview to a back-and-forth conversation by asking Bahbah questions as well, creating a comfort level that is so peaceful to sit in that viewers can also be at the table – and on their dancefloor.
Standout quote from Nemahsis: “People don’t know how to stand up for something. People are scared of something that doesn’t even exist. They’re scared of consequences they’ve never even endured or tasted before. And the people that have faced the most consequences are the more fearless.”
Standout quote from Bahbah: “I don’t see myself as broken, and I don’t see you as broken. I think we’re hurting, and we obviously have wounds that need healing, but we are not broken people. We don’t get to give them that power. They did not break us. They tried to suck our light away from us, and I think that’s a very big difference.”
Cindy Kimberly: I built a ‘perfect’ life so no one would find out the truth.
Cindy Kimberly’s story is one for those who are independent and willing to protect themselves and those who are trying to understand that perspective. Kimberly’s episode starts almost in media res, with the viewer assuming that they will start as strangers, but instead, start as friends. As the model lies with a sheet across her, artists draw her with Bahbah’s prompt, and we hear about the assumed life of Kimberly and how it couldn’t be further from the truth. With no one fighting for her but herself, Cindy Kimberly lived a life of perseverance and the hope that if she kept trying, it would somehow turn out alright. This turned her into a workaholic with the mindset that she isn’t worthy of rest and a mental reset. While her story is beautiful and honest, Kimberly’s message will surely resonate the most with those who never feel at ease or protected and are looking for a message of mental clarity.
Standout quote from Kimberly: “I personally feel really inspired by seeing strong women around me live out their truth and overcome things. And I think the most important thing for me has been to have a strong community around me of women who inspire me and show me that I’m not alone. Although my struggles are unique to me, I don’t have to go through them alone, and they don’t make me weird.”
Standout quote from Bahbah: “Both those books [The Power of Now and Untethered Soul] teach you how to separate your mind and your ego from your higher being. In Untethered Soul, it speaks about your mind as your roommate, and your roommate is constantly talking to you and yelling at you and not letting you sleep. And The Power of Now tells us to bring awareness to that roommate. It’s saying to ourselves, ‘I am listening to my mind,’ and you’re like, ‘Oh, I’m not my thoughts. My thoughts are just thoughts. They come from nowhere and everywhere.’”
Please note: Kimberly’s episode of Can I Come In? contains a trigger warning for conversations revolving around child sexual abuse and substance abuse.
Liza Soberano: Mind Your F**cking Business!
Liza’s story is not one to be taken lightly, and it’s one to prepare yourself for before hearing. That being said, it’s also one of power, determination, and bravery. Born Hope Elizabeth Soberano, Liza was immediately subjected to the world of drugs and abuse. When her birth parents got into legal trouble and her grandparents were unable to take her in, she was thrown into the uncertainty of foster homes, where she endured unspeakable cruelty. Eventually, she was forced to move to the Philippines to live with her birth father, where she also began her acting career. It was here that she was put into a love team with Enrique Gil. Liza’s story is raw and unfiltered in a way that is painful but ultimately freeing and leads to self-love over everything.
Standout quote from Soberano: “I tolerated and accepted a lot of disrespect and abuse out of fear of losing people that weren’t afraid of losing me.”
Standout quote from Bahbah: “You don’t have to be strong. Your feelings are so valid. You didn’t deserve any of that. You didn’t deserve a single part of that. That is the cruelest shit I’ve ever heard… Can we all give Liza a round of applause?”
Please note: Soberano’s episode of Can I Come In? contains a trigger warning for conversations revolving around child sexual abuse, domestic abuse, and substance abuse.
BANKS: My First Love Turned Into My Stalker
BANKS’ story is a reflection on who she was and who she has become. BANKS tells the viewer about her first love. She goes into detail on how it started, who they were to each other, and how deeply they became intertwined. As an empath and an intuitive woman, this is what she believed first love was supposed to be, as do many others. It wasn’t until the relationship soured that she was able to realize what she had built was a love of naivety and discomfort. As BANKS grew through her pain, she turned it into music and fell into her art, taking the love that left her and morphing it into the love she has for herself.
Standout quote from BANKS: “I’m not sure there was one moment that I just started choosing myself. I think it’s a constant journey and a constant evolution of learning how to choose yourself in different situations, with different tendencies, with different pressures, with different people, with different dynamics. And I know that I’m so proud of how far I’ve come.”
Standout quote from Bahbah: “I think the universe dragged you through the dirt on purpose because you were supposed to make the art you did. And that art changes many people’s lives.”
To keep up with Sarah Bahbah’s work, she can be found on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Want more art that speaks to the feminine experience? Check out EnVi’s piece on UNSEEN, an exhibit that amplifies the voices of North Korean women, here!
