Shrink for Who? Reclaiming Your Space, Voice, and Power
A truth for anyone who's ever been told to dim their light.
There is a time and place for everything.
And for far too long, we were told our time was later—and our place was quiet.
If you’ve ever been called “too much,” this is for you.
Too loud. Too confident. Too emotional. Too honest. Too sexy. Too spiritual. Too passionate.
Too Black.
Too Brown.
Too bold to be ignored and too real to be controlled.
You were told to shrink—because the world wasn’t ready for your fullness.
They didn’t know what to do with a presence that refused to be background noise.
So they labeled you: intimidating. Difficult. Aggressive. Dramatic. Extra.
When really, you were just alive in a world addicted to control.
Let’s be clear:
You were never too much—
They were just never enough.
Not open enough to listen.
Not rooted enough to reflect.
Not brave enough to rise to your level.
This society was built to keep people in place.
The church told you humility meant erasing yourself.
The state taught you survival was obedience.
The workplace rewarded the quiet and punished the loud.
The schools trained you to raise your hand and wait your turn—even when no one was coming to call on you.
You learned to shapeshift.
You became fluent in code-switching.
You earned degrees in shrinking, in silence, in second-guessing yourself.
All while carrying brilliance in your bones and fire behind your eyes.
But here's the truth no one wants to say out loud:
You were never the problem.
You are not too loud. You are not too direct. You are not too ambitious. You are not too big.
You’re not dramatic for having feelings.
You’re not aggressive for asserting yourself.
You are not extra—you are exact.
And no, this isn’t about ego.
It’s about alignment.
It’s about refusing to apologize for your light just because it shines where others have shadows.
It’s about showing up whole in a world that profits off your pieces.
This world doesn’t need you smaller.
It needs you true.
So if you’re wondering if you should scale back again… don’t.
If you’re tempted to tuck in your edges or your emotions… don’t.
If you’re questioning your voice in the room—speak louder.
Because the truth is, you were never too much.
You were just in the wrong rooms, around the wrong people, with the wrong expectations projected onto you.
And now?
Now it’s time to reclaim your space.
Expand. Heal. Own every inch of your presence.
Not just for you—but for every version of you that ever thought they had to fold just to belong.
🔥 Do This Next:
Tag someone who’s been told they were “too much” and remind them—they are more than enough. Always have been.
Journal it out: Where have you been shrinking? What would it look like to take up space without apology?
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