天津阅读表达 Rx009・2020_05 阅读表达

I remember the day shyness took over my life. I was 14 and having a French lesson. The teacher told us to record ourselves speaking about a holiday. Perfect! I recorded myself with confidence. Then, I pressed “play” to listen back. All I heard was a little kid talking. My immediate reaction was to assume I was listening to someone else’s recording. But that was my voice. I realised there was something strange about me.

My little voice has made me feel really shy. And my shyness has caused me to avoid attending events, not make important connections, and keep my ideas to myself. As a shy person, working from home, hiding behind my computer was brilliant. But the more time I spent hidden away, the more my comfort zone shrank (缩小). Everyday interactions, like ordering a coffee, became increasingly awkward and uncomfortable.

And then, one day I was at a big conference and it suddenly hit me like lightning. All speakers were confident, comfortable with being seen. There were no quieter voices. But the trouble is, if the loud voices are the only ones you hear, we quiet people feel even more alienated (疏远的). The world needs a mixture of personalities. Success is not just about who can shout the loudest. The world needs quieter people, too. That day I chose to stop hiding and embrace my shyness. No more feeling like I needed to change who I am in order to succeed. No more living a small life.

Then I created the Shy and Mighty Society, a space for shy people like me to shine, and in the process of helping others, I could also push myself forward, bit by bit. Now, I’m happy to tell people I feel shy. I’m not ashamed any more. And I know that I’m not alone.