This week I got broached for a radio opportunity.
Over the years this has happened on occasion.
This time I said I would consider it. Someone had watched a clip with me and had passed it on to someone else. The point of this post is... celebrate everything about yourself.... The quirks, the good, what you may consider ‘bad’, the lot. What has this got to do with possibly being on radio? This... when I was in secondary school I was bullied and teased.
One issue for some was my voice. If you have heard me speak then you will know I have a low register. The boys in school and boys will be boys ... teased me mercilessly about it. They would mimic, imitate etc. What they didn’t know (and I’m sure they didn’t mean to...) was they caused me so much anxiety. Anxiety to go to school. Anxiety to walk into class, anxiety and more anxiety. Was it occasional teasing here and there? No. It started as mild teasing and soon became bullying. It wasn’t just about my voice. It was a few things from my height, my disposition, the way I wore my hair etc. This went on for years.
But back to the voice issue. I nearly developed a stammer and was scared to speak up. When you know all you are going to say will be mimicked back to you that can make you nervous to speak. Little did I know that same ‘tone of voice’, that register that was indeed unique to a woman, and my enunciation made it good for radio. I want to encourage you if you are reading this... that height that you’ve been made to hate, that facial feature they say stands out too much (good case in point? Barbara Streisand’s nose or Liza Minnelli’s eyes...), your style (will tell you more about that one day soon), your point of view... etc... will pay off so don’t change it or hide it for anyone.
You may hear me on radio soon. Who knows? That’s not the point. The point is those opportunities over the years which I’ve incessantly said no to were offered each time because of the same voice that a 14 year old girl was scared to let anyone hear.
Celebrate (if you can’t do this alone, get the support to do so) what makes you unique.
If you are being bullied call the BullyingUK helpline on 0808-800-2222 (1.30pm to 5pm Monday to Friday) or the National Bullying Helpline on 0300-323-0169 (open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday) in the UK. Call the Stop Bullying Now Hotline on 1-800-273-8255 (open 24 hours 7 days a week) or the in the US. More information and resources here , here and here.