“Run. Run away and never return.” -Scar, The Lion King

As a child, my siblings and I loved watching The Lion King. Yes, we had a crush on Simba. It’s entirely possible to have a crush on an animated lion at that age. But I remember watching the scene where Scar tells his nephew cub to run away and always being confused by it. 

Inwardly, I cringed every time someone introduced me as the “shy” girl. I hated that label so much, but didn’t know how I could overcome it. I couldn’t think quickly enough for a good comeback or randomly pull up extroverted skills that I didn’t have, so I felt like I had to cave to the pressure of what many thought of me. I went along with the part I felt like everyone expected me to play, except for when I was with my close friends or family. Only those who knew me well saw me for what I felt was a much better representation of who I really was. With them I was goofy, friendly, talkative, and always trying to think deeply about life.