Speak your truth...even if your voice shakes

I have had a really hard time finding my voice in this world. There were moments, many of them along the way, where it was easier, safer, to retract and just observe, to watch human nature unravelling before me.
My silence made me very good at reading others.
But then I found my voice. It came and it scattered people to the four corners. No, I am not who you say I am. You don’t get to tell that story anymore. Not without it being interrupted. Challenged.
And there it was. I was shaken. But took up more space.
It freed me. And it’s been with me ever since.