I Spoke Up in the Meeting

Dear Delyara, I said what I actually thought in the meeting. That shouldn’t feel so huge, and yet it did. Usually I filter myself in professional spaces more than I even realize. I soften. Delay. Rehearse mentally. Offer a safer version of the thought. Today I didn’t. I spoke clearly. Calmly. At the right moment. Without apologizing for having a mind. The idea was received well, but even if it hadn’t been, something still shifted in me. I respected myself a little more afterward.