For most of my life, I believed that something was wrong with me.

I was the girl who stayed in the background. The one who loved spending time alone — reading, painting, dreaming. I felt things deeply. I noticed everything. But I never quite knew where I fit in.

I used to think that being quiet meant I wasn’t built for big things. That I didn’t have what it took to make it in this loud, fast-moving world.

But I see now: my quiet was never….