I was plagued by my shyness as a kid, gripped with fear when faced with talking to anyone I didn’t know. But when I discovered I loved to dance, my life took on a new shape. I found a way to express myself without saying a word. I learned how to connect with the outside world while holding onto my quiet nature.
Today, I’ve left much of the shy and quiet girl in my past. I faced my fear of speaking and developed a confident voice as a fitness teacher and a lifestyle writer. I’ve made it my job to speak, to share my voice.
But when I dance, I realize the quiet girl is still inside me, and I love her. Dancing shares a piece of me that couldn’t be revealed through spoken or written words, yet it often feels like the most honest expression I have available. It reminds me that my quiet nature is a huge strength I can continue to draw on. It allows me to turn inward, to listen to my subtle intuitions, to trust my gut feelings, and to pay attention to the wisdom of my surroundings.
When I dance, I am confidently quiet, vulnerably strong.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Dance has given me confidence like nothing else! From knowing how to hold my body when I’m in front of a room, how to open my chest up so I’m not slouching in front of people and how to handle people’s attention without cringing. It really is a gift that can open us up and ready us to stand up and share our message with the world! Thanks for such a lovely post Laurel! I ? you!
Thank you @JaneAustensMom:disqus , I appreciate you leaving a comment here! Cheers to you for also finding dance as a way to express yourself as an introvert. 🙂 It’s a beautiful way of life.
I, too, am introverted and shy, but through my passion for dance I have found a way of expressing myself. I’m not good at speaking to others and that often leads to my feelings and thoughts not being valued or recognized. But dance has given me a voice.It’s my way of telling who I am and what I feel, without having to speak.
I’m so happy that I have found something I’m so passionate about (and I have even decided to make this passion into a career!).
It’s nice to see that others feel the same way. It’s true, dance is an universal language!
Thank you @kenny_ramp, I appreciate your thoughts so much! LOVED your line, “I suspect you dance as a poetess might write and express.” Wow!
Thank you @kenny_ramp:disqus, I appreciate your thoughts so much! LOVED your line, “I suspect you dance as a poetess might write and express.” Wow!
Laurel, I suspect you dance as a poetess might write and express. Pen to paper; body to movement: the same flow from the same or similar place. Introversion has so often had such a negative stigma to it, and yet, here you are having embraced that very quiet nature and developed your strength and expressions from the inside to the out. Through dance, through teaching, through writing you are free and alive and you…and that surely must inspire others! A wonderful sharing from your heart… Kenny/QuietRev2