00:00I used to dim myself. Dress down. Speak softer. Not because I wasn't confident, but because I could feel it. The envy. The discomfort. I sensed it before it was ever said. We even joked in school. If you want a good grade from that one female teacher, wear the plainest dress you own and glasses, big, thick ones.
00:22Even though I never wore glasses, I thought, maybe if I looked less like me, they'd be more comfortable. But here's the truth. Even if I had worn glasses, even if I had hidden behind the plainest version of myself, they would have still envied me.
00:38Because it was never about the dress, never about the makeup, never even about the glasses. It was about my presence, the way I carried myself, the light I didn't know I was shining.
00:50So now, I let myself shine. Not to impress, not to compete, but because I finally know I'm allowed to.
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