I know you feel invisible, sitting there in school, while your peers are eagerly chatting. They seem oblivious to your existence as they talk around you, barely glancing in your direction. If they do, it's almost as if they see right through you, not even noticing that you're there. When it comes time to choose partners for a group project, you cringe inside watching your classmates grab each other yelling, "You're my partner!" "Be mine!" How are you supposed to be part of a group when you feel like half the kids don't even know you're there?
You're all too familiar with the emptiness of standing beside a locker surrounded by groups of people with their backs to you. They talk about movies you've seen, songs you've heard, but you know it's pointless to chime in. They only give you puzzled glances when you speak, as if they're wondering, "Why are you talking?"
You know what it's like to walk into class and slide into the back row seat, put your books down and count down the minutes until class starts. There's refuge in the lull of the teacher's voice, the drone that prevents other people from talking. For once, your silence doesn't seem as loud.
The friends you do have are always telling you to talk more, slamming hurtful phrases at you like, "You never talk enough." "Why are you so quiet?" "You need to talk more."
Your teachers are even worse, and you've come to dread the phrase, "Part of your grade is based on participation." You know that, as hard as you may try, as much as you may want to earn those points, you just can't because whenever you raise your hand in class you blush, stumble over your words, and hate yourself for your inability to be like the rest of them. And the teachers don't seem to understand.
Why is there an inability for the rest of the world to accept your silence? Why does no one understand that the world doesn't need to be full of words all the time? They say silence is golden, but then they judge you when you do not speak.
Sometimes you feel like the world finds you flawed, like your quiet personality is somehow bad. The world praises those who talk, those who say whatever crosses their mind. Why don't they praise you, the one who savors words for when they are necessary, the one who doesn't fill the air with useless noise?
I'm here to tell you there is nothing wrong with you, there is no shame in being quiet. Take pride in the fact that you speak with caution, that you choose your words with care. Despite their actions, people do appreciate you when you choose to speak. They appreciate the fact that your words are reliable, that you don't just spit out what comes to mind. Your words have value, they mean something, they are thought out and articulate, and when they do come, they carry much more weight.
I hope there comes a day when you can accept yourself. When you no longer define yourself as quiet, as flawed, as not enough. I hope one day you see your value because you have so much to offer. You may not speak the loudest, but when you do you impact the world. You have so much power within you, and it need not come from just your words.
Always remember:
Quiet people have the loudest minds. -Stephen Hawking
Sincerely,
A Fellow Quiet Kid
