When I was a little girl, I was always very loud, and I wanted to always be the center of attention. My parents tell me stories of how I would shout at them from my bedroom or the bathroom, so they wouldn't forget that I existed. When I got into school, I remained that way. I was always getting "talks too much" on my report cards, even in kindergarten. I got my good day card pulled in kindergarten because I laughed too loud.
After moving schools a couple times, my need to be the center of attention died down, because nobody wants to be new, and the center of attention. But I was still incredibly loud. My teachers were all putting on my report cards how delightful I was to have in class, but that I just talked too much, and too loudly.
I was being constantly scolded by teachers and family to "use my inside voice" or "quiet down" and I just couldn't. Being loud has always been a part of who I am. Once I got to high school, my loudness became one of the things I was widely known for. My best friend always teases me that she would know if I was at school that day because she would hear me as soon as she walked in, no matter where I was. In drama club, I never got told I needed to work on my projecting. In speech class, I always got extra points for speaking loudly and being easy to understand. And slowly, as I neared the end of my high school career, I grew into my voice.
You see, even though my voice was loud, in middle school and the beginning of high school, I feared speaking up. In most of my classes, I didn't really contribute to any discussions, instead I sat back and listened. But in my junior year of high school, something clicked, and I realized why I had been born with such a loud speaking voice.
I'm loud because I am meant to be heard, and I demand to be heard.
When I was younger, and didn't speak up, I was ashamed of how loud I was. But once I realized that I was loud for a reason, I came to not only accept my loudness, but embrace it. I am loud when I speak. But I am also loud in my thoughts and opinions.
Yes, I'm that girl that you can hear down the street. I'm that girl that can never keep her mouth shut when she has something worth saying. I'm that girl with an opinion on everything. I don't care how unladylike of me that is, I don't care how bossy I sound, and I don't care how that leads others to perceive me. I will not be told to stop talking, or to lower my voice. I will always speak up.
Sincerely,
The little girl who was always told to "be quiet"
