I trusted my own thought before hearing it approved

Dear Delyara, This week I had a small professional moment that felt bigger inside me than it would have looked to anyone else. I had a thought. And instead of immediately softening it, apologizing for it, or waiting for someone else to reflect it back as valid before I could trust it, I stayed with it. That felt like a kind of self-respect I am still learning. The decision itself mattered. But the deeper thing was this: I did not leave my own mind so quickly. That felt good.