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 🥰