Today, Tracy from our team shares a little of her personal journey alongside a reflection on a chat she had with a young person recently…
Hey there, today I’m going to take a little time encouraging you that no matter what’s going on you matter and are worth investing time in, I hope that’s okay!
There have been times in my life where I have discarded myself and my emotions as unimportant and pushed my own needs away. I felt like I wasn’t worth listening to, or even that I had anything valuable to share. Others have also told me to be quiet. I spent a lot of my time sitting on the edge of meetings or friendship groups encouraging others to say their piece but never saying anything.
It wasn’t until many years later that I met someone, who now I’d call a really good friend, who invested time and energy in me. Through spending time together she would encourage me that she loved hearing what I had to say even if it was silly or made no sense. She would say things like…
‘I love how alternative your brain is’
‘Tell me something about what you are passionate about – teach me something new’.
‘You voice is aloud to be heard, I love what you have to share’
… and by just simply being there, she showed me that I was worth her time.
It took me months if not years to realise that I could speak up and that I did have a voice worth listening to. Through spending time together, encouraging one another and listening, that I realised I wasn’t a waste of time and that when I reached out, I was acknowledging for myself that I was important too.
This is why I love to be able to help young people realise the importance of their voice too…
So here’s a few questions for you:
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Do you resonate with this story?
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Have you ever felt like you don’t matter or your voice doesn’t and you are just wasting peoples time?
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Can I challenge you to take a second and think of how you do matter. You are worth investing in.
Like me, you need to spend time acknowledging that you are worth it, you do matter and begin to invest in those relationships that encourage you and listen and trust that what they say is actually true.
Go on, give it a go and tell yourself: “You do matter & You are worth it”.
