I talked to myself as a kid. I didn’t realize I was doing it, and I slurred my words. Other kids and strangers made fun of me a couple times, and I learned to hold it in. I ‘learned,’ from that experience and other ridicule, that I’m small and shouldn’t speak. I held back my voice, speaking in a faint croak on the rare occasion I spoke at all.

I still talk to myself now, faintly, but it’s more of a conscious processing of my day. I live alone but I miss having a roommate and that frequent conversation. I still haven’t reclaimed my full voice, or not often. I assume it’s a matter of confidence and exposure.