An unknown voice whispered: You can’t.
I listened.
Darkness spoke: You’ll fall.
I obeyed… like a really obedient cat
that didn’t want to get off the couch,
that didn’t even care if the world moved on without me.

I shook my head

Then…
a small voice screamed
Rise.

I stood.
I shook.
I walked.

Step by step.
Shadow by shadow.
Every misstep felt like quicksand,
but I learned to tiptoe, to dance,
to laugh at the parts of me that trembled.

I Paused. I Leaned slightly forward.

I left behind what I feared—
the judgment, the doubts, the “never enoughs”…
and, yes, my old collection of bad self-talk,
tangled like headphones in a drawer I never opened.

Light ahead.
Shadows behind.

I am more.
I am becoming.

I am more!
I am becoming!

And yes…
I even smiled at the shadows on the way out.
Because if shadows think they can chase me,
they’ll have to catch me first—and I’m already halfway to the sun.

I Paused. Breathe. And Step forward. 
I rise.
I laugh.
I move.
I am more.
Always more.