Learning to Speak

“I can speak for myself!” 

I don’t want anyone to speak for me:

My words to be my own, 

said from my mouth;

My mistakes to be my own, 

born from my actions;

My successes to be my own, 

because I climbed the mountain.

And yet, it’s okay if the words out my lips ask for help 

Because some mountains are too steep to go alone. 

I don’t need to speak my successes as an apology, 

either in advance of being too good

or of being not good enough. 

I don’t need to whisper my opinion,

let others’ shouts drown it;

I can shout too.

I deserve to shout too.

At best, disagreement can fuel understanding and new perspective

At the least, unspoken words will stop eating my insides 

Yes, the world still teaches me, for I am still willing to learn. 

But for now I have discovered that silence shall be the killer of human connection,

And I will choose to feed my voice,

rather than my silence.