I’m sure that from the title of this piece, you already know what I am going to  speak about. 

In case you do not know me, 

Hi, my name is Princess Odey and I am a recovering wallflower.

Growing up, I wasn’t exactly a wallflower. I was outspoken; I was assertive, and I had no fear in the world. I don’t know if it was the fearless heart of a child or if I  was just plain crazy, but yea, not a wallflower. However, somewhere along the way, I lost that “crazy”. I cannot pinpoint the exact period that this happened, but I discovered that somehow, I had gotten “shy”. 

What I did during this period was, I hid a lot; I hid behind my books and novels and movies and behind the reserved facade just watching people and unconsciously learning. It was also really helpful that I had a knack for disappearing when I was asked to do something that pertained to being put on the spot or being in front of a crowd as such, I mastered the art of blending into the environment very well. 

It turns out however, that you cannot hide so well when you have a name such as mine. My name seemed to attract a lot of attention the more I hid. I decided to give up with the unsuccessful hiding activity. It took a lot of intentionality on my part and several urgings from Abba to finally decide to step out of this shroud of invisibility. 

It was UNCOMFORTABLE! It was tiring; I got angry and frustrated a lot BUT; I decided to persevere. Now, I realize that all I was doing; the lessons learned, and the hurdles jumped was not for me as an individual; it was for the people who would later benefit from whatever capacity I’d have built over the years.

I understand that I have so much to offer my world, a lot that has been put inside of  me by Abba to showcase to the world and it will be a great disservice/ injustice to deny the world the opportunity of benefitting from all that. So, these days, I hide my nervousness behind a really cute smile (and it is a cute smile, if I should say so myself). I constantly remind myself that all I am doing is not for me, but for others because, I realize that when you live outside yourself, when you know everything is much bigger than you, it is easier to do these things. You see, I also understood that at the end of the day, all that I am or will ever be, isn’t for me, rather it is to the extent that I am a channel through which other people can be impacted, and impact for me is my purpose on earth. 

So, yea, not to say that I don’t get shy, or occasionally try to hide my light, I still do, but now, when I do all that, I put it on my conscience that I am denying people the opportunity to learn and benefit, but also that I am denying myself the opportunity to be a channel. 

Not to sound like a “perspire to acquire” person, I hope that someone somewhere reads this piece and inspired to ACT. You’ve got so much to give, the universe has a lot to benefit from you and it will be such a shame to deprive people of all that because of a mundane reason such as “shyness”. As a good friend once said to me ” it’s okay to fear, what matters is having the courage to face it” 

So, find THAT passion, discover THAT purpose and do the Bachata individual dance?? when you do while making your mark in the World?. Find a dance tutorial video link below to help; 

https://youtu.be/XbDPuj-dqdQ 

P.S- It’s easier said than done but you’ve got this, boo! (Both the dance steps and finding your passion/purpose) 

Till next time, 

Your recovering wallflower,

Princess ?