A Tennis Court. A Teasing. And a Truth You Need to Hear.

I must’ve only been about four.

We were driving in my Pop’s old car—you know the kind, where the vinyl seats stuck to your legs in summer—and I was buzzing with excitement. We were off to pick up my big sister from tennis.

To me, she was everything. Confident. Cool. Funny. I’d even picked a rose from the garden to give her when she got in the car.

But then we turned the corner.

And my heart sank.

There she was—slumped at the edge of the court, shoulders shaking, sobbing.

She had just gotten new glasses, probably felt a little different, a little unsure. And some kids had teased her—publicly, cruelly.

That image is still seared in my memory. The rose in my hand suddenly felt heavy. Useless. Because how could a flower fix that kind of hurt?

The Moment We All Know Too Well

Most of us know what that moment feels like.

We’ve been that little girl.

Maybe not on a tennis court, but in a classroom, a boardroom, on a stage, or even at the family dinner table. Somewhere, we showed up excited, full of light—and we were laughed at. Or dismissed. Or told to “pipe down.”

And whether we were 4, 14, or 40, something in us shrank.

We learned to hide the parts of ourselves that felt “different.” To play it safe. To protect ourselves from ever being that exposed again.

The Truth You Need to Hear

But here’s what I want you to remember:

That version of you—the one with the spark, the voice, the message? She deserves to be seen.

And she deserves to be heard.

Your story.
Your message.
Your magic.

It doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to be yours.

From Shrinking to Shining

This is exactly what I help women do every day: create a Signature Talk that feels like them. A talk that tells the truth, connects with an audience, and transforms listeners—while healing a little piece of that old wound each time it’s spoken.

So the next time you hear that inner voice telling you to shrink, remember this:

✨ You’re not the girl crying at the side of the court anymore.
✨ You’re the woman who can walk onto a stage and change the room.
✨ And you don’t need to be accepted by everyone—just the right ones.

Your voice matters. Your story matters. And the right audience is waiting to hear it.

Are you ready to step onto your stage?