A woman who suppressed her accent and identity as a teenager to fit in carried that habit into her marriage, hiding her true voice. She learned that being yourself in relationships, not conforming to what you think others want, creates lasting connections.
And I also worked really hard when I first came to the US when I was 15 because I was so different and all I wanted to do was belong. I wanted to be part of the cool kids and I felt like in order to do that I needed to set aside a part of myself, set aside a part of who I was and that's why I worked so hard on this darn accent. And in a way I created like a wrinkle because when I married I continued in that vein of conforming, blending in, not making my voice heard, not standing strong for the things that I wanted because it was still so important for me to be accepted. So I'll give you one guess as to how exactly that turned out. And my recommendation is just be you, just be who you are, show up in your relationship authentically, because that's what's really going to make it last.
