Dare to utter

My mum, from time to time, says, ‘Even if your voice is shaking, speak up.’ It’s a painful thing to have words stuck in our throats; to try and speak only to be shut down. It runs deep, and I think it can make it very difficult to speak our minds in the future. But then our hurt stays in, sitting heavy in our stomachs. When we want to share our joy, we pause and wonder if anyone will care. We have to step out of it, not for any person but for ourselves.

It’s a big step to take, stepping out of our comfort zones to speak our minds. To be honest, I’m actually kind of scared. But Aṣa says to us, ‘Shine Your Light, you really should listen to Aṣa by the way, so I will step out and shine my light. It’s also really interesting to realise that it is by speaking our mind that we make mistakes, learn from others, spark beautiful conversations, and mature. Self-expression really opens up a world to us.

The title of Abi Dare’s book, ‘The Girl With The Louding Voice’, makes me curious. What was the world like after the girl found her ‘louding voice’? Well, I’m going to have to find out for myself as I gain my own ‘louding voice’, and perhaps I’ll give the book a read. I hope you’ll come along with me on this journey of careful but brave steps.

Alexander from MANI