How much of yourself have you edited just to make other people comfortable?
You softened your opinions.
You laughed when something hurt.
You apologized before you even spoke.
You made yourself smaller because somewhere along the way, you learned that confident women were called intimidating.
Here's what I've learned.
People who benefit from your silence rarely celebrate your voice.
The moment you start setting boundaries, speaking honestly, or choosing yourself, some people won't like it.
Not because you've changed.
Because they no longer get the version of you that was willing to disappear for their comfort.
That's not your responsibility.
Your job isn't to be digestible.
Your job is to be authentic.
The right people won't ask you to become smaller.
They'll hand you a bigger chair.
You were never too much. You were just surrounded by people asking you to be less.
-JDS