I asked for the meeting

Dear Delyara, Without pretending I didn’t care whether they said yes. That’s new for me. I think I’ve spent years trying to look detached enough to protect my pride. Interested but not needy. Qualified but not ambitious. Capable but not hungry. There’s a whole performance women learn around wanting professional things without looking like they want them too much. This time I skipped the performance. I asked. Directly. Clearly. Without dressing my ambition up as casual curiosity. That was the real victory. Not the answer. The honesty.