Take up Space
I remember the boldness I had as a young girl, it was unmatched. Little 3-5 year old Hailey had no problem being silly in front of strangers, she would wear princess dresses to the post office and had this love for dancing, singing and performing.
Yet, somewhere along the way she began to carry the label of a quiet girl. She went through some hurtful things and it made her feel soooo embarrassed. It was never one thing that stood out, but a bunch of little cuts that caused her to feel shame and guilt over time.
Flash forward about 20 years, and I (Adult Hailey) have been doing years of work now to heal from some of those initial traumas and dramas I went through as a young girl and into my young adulthood, which I lovingly refer to as my young adult-hell.
What once used to be unbridled passion became crippling fear that seemed to paralyze nearly every area of my life. It led me to choose hobbies, careers and relationships to try and keep the fears at bay, “Don’t try to hard, don’t stand out, don’t be cringe” were all thoughts that swirled around in my mind. I was living a way smaller life than I had ever dreamed of.
I don’t know if you relate to this exactly, but I do know a lot of us have this common experience of feeling like we’re shrinking ourselves down to make others feel more comfortable. We do this a lot in settings like school or work where it might go against the status-quo to express our honest opinion. We do this when we don’t try as hard as we could because we don’t want to “lose” something if it doesn’t work out. I think of this as the too cool for school syndrome.
But what that doesn’t prepare us for is the real world where as my first acting teacher said, “Fortune favors the bold”. Those of us with big dreams and big aspirations MUST act in boldness, we MUST take up the space we feel called to take up. If you’re reading this right now, I know you have big dreams and big aspirations.
So I’m here to tell you, it’s time to throw the “cool girl” the “effortless girl” out the window. She is no longer welcome to drive the car of your life. And YOU my dear, must take back the wheel that is YOUR life. It’s going to take bold action, it’s going to take you pushing back the lies that keep you small.
And while it might require a fight, it’s also going to require a grace and a level of compassion you might not have ever given yourself. I believe everything God has put in your heart is worth shamelessly pursuing and I believe you have everything you need to pull those dreams out of heaven and into reality.
I’m rooting for you and I am here on the journey WITH you as we figure out how to take up the space we were meant to take up in this world.
all my love,