Here’s to the comfort-zone loving girl who also dreams big.

The one who fears change but steps out to embrace it. Who fancies her box but steps up to break out of it.

To the shy. Reserved. Self-conscious. Unsure.

You’ll never see her first on the dance floor. You won’t see her let loose ’til that glass of wine kicks in. Words like “she’s a blast” or “party girl” won’t paint her picture.

She feels awkward in a room full of strangers and she’s pretty sure she shrinks two inches standing up in front of a crowd. She’s an artist constantly fighting the urge to color inside the lines. She feels things out. Tests the waters. Always keeps the nearest exit in sight.

They say it’s the bold ones who change the world. The overtly confident, slightly crazy, dance-like-nobody’s-watching ones that become the movers and shakers. And maybe it’s partially true.

But don’t be quick to discount the girl who doesn’t always speak up. The one who sometimes watches from the sidelines or fades into the corner. Don’t assume she’s just a wallflower or another stone to crush on your own path to success. Don’t assume she has no plans.

Just because she’s quiet doesn’t mean she has nothing to say. Just because she’s cautious doesn’t mean she’s not strong. She refuses to be a slave to her inhibitions. She fights back against her very nature to move the mountains in the way of her feats. She’s plotting a course and digging up courage that often gets pushed too far down. She’s listening, strategizing, and taking it all in. She’s building an unforeseeable strength and waiting for the right moment to pounce —

with a game-winning move, a genius idea, or a perfectly timed joke.

So if when you see her you first think

“Dull”,

you simply have yet to see her

Shine.

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