For so long, I thought I had to be more talkative, more outgoing, more social—to be loved.

I believed that if I could just be more charming, more engaging, more like the life of the party, maybe I would finally feel accepted, desired, understood.

I tried.

I pushed myself into conversations when I would have rather listened.
I forced myself into social settings where I felt drained instead of energized.
I thought that if I didn’t keep up—if I didn’t speak loudly enough, often enough, fast enough—I would be overlooked, forgotten, or worse… unloved.

And I believed it because my mother—whose words shaped my world—told me I was too shy and needed to make more friends, be more social, fit in.

And so I tried.

But the more I tried to be more of something I was not, the more I felt like I was losing myself.

I See My Mother Differently Now.

Today, my mother tells me, “You are more like me than I realized.”

She was shy too. She wanted friends but never quite fit in.

And now, I see her in a new way—not just as my mother but as a wounded little girl, trying to keep my wounded little girl safe.

She wasn’t trying to change me because she thought I was broken.
She was trying to protect me from the loneliness she had felt.

And that is so precious, in the most tender, sweet way.

She didn’t know how to tell me, “You are perfect as you are.”
Because no one had ever told her.

But I know now—I don’t need to fit in.

I love being different.
I love being me.

You Wouldn’t Know I Am Shy If You Saw Me on the Dance Floor.

There, I am free. There, I don’t have to be anything for anyone.

If I love the song, if I feel the rhythm, I close my eyes, and it’s just me and the music. The lyrics, the beat, the way my body moves—I surrender completely to it.

And sometimes, people want to join me.
And sometimes, they don’t.
And either way, it’s OK.

Because I am not dancing to be seen.
I am dancing because it is who I am.

I Want My Soulmate to Find Me—The Real Me.

The only way he will know me is if he can recognize me.

And how could he recognize me if I spent my life trying to be someone else?

So I am no longer trying to fit in.
I am no longer trying to force myself into spaces that drain me or conversations that make me feel like I have to perform.
I am no longer abandoning myself to be loved.

I am simply being me.

And I love being me.

Would you like that kind of freedom—the freedom to love yourself exactly as you are?

What do you love most about being you? 💖

Your nervous system already knows the truth. Your body has been whispering it all along. If you’re ready to release old wounds, step into self-trust, and call in the love and life that are meant for you, let’s connect. Consultation Call with Catherine

xoxo love, Catherine

The Love Priestess

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