Member-only story
Finding A Way To Take Up Space
How do you room for yourself when you feel like you just don’t belong?
Building an audience requires you to take up space.
And that can be pretty difficult (even dangerous) for many of us.
Whether because of gender, race, sexuality, neurodivergence, disability, or individual trauma, there is no small number of us who learned to take up as little space as possible.
Always be the first to step aside on the sidewalk. Never use the armrest on a plane. Make yourself as compact as possible waiting in line, at the bar, or even on your couch at home.
I watch people who move through the world with no regard for the space they’re taking up. I have no reference point for what that must be like.
I would say that “taking up space” is one of the hardest things for me to do…
…but the truth is I just don’t do it.
I realize that may sound absurd. I’m writing an essay that will literally take up space in the inboxes of thousands of people. But it’s true.
The internet is the one place where I felt like I could take up a little space. It’s given me the room to stretch out — ever…
