First Word - Notes from the inside voice.
“Softer Doesn’t Mean Smaller”
How quiet confidence rewrote the rules of showing up.
They mistook my quiet for discomfort.
They called my boundaries “dramatic” because I didn’t shout them.
They said I was “too sensitive” — because I paused before replying.
But I’ve learned that softness doesn’t mean I shrink.
It means I slow down long enough to choose my words with care.
That I know how to leave without slamming the door.
That I can say no — gently, and still mean it.
Power doesn’t always sound like a raised voice.
Sometimes it looks like a sticker on a notebook.
A message in your Notes app.
A line you underlined in a book that made you feel seen.
This is your permission slip to write it out before you blurt it out.
To process instead of post.
To take up space without hardening.
Softness isn’t weakness. It’s strategy.
And that’s where your final say begins.