77. Quiet, Direct, and Just Fine: Being Ourselves Without Apologies

Hey Doc,

This episode was sparked by a late-night convo with my husband about our current au pair (who’s on her way out) and turned into a full reflection on introversion, identity, and what it means to actually honor who we are, even when the world tells us we’re too much, or not enough.

I’m sharing something personal about how my personality has always been “a lot” for people, especially in medicine, especially in residency, and especially as a Black woman. I talk about what that has looked like with our au pairs over the years and how I’ve been tempted to shapeshift in my own house just to make other people more comfortable. (Spoiler: I won’t be doing that.)

And more importantly, I talk about what it means to raise children who know that their natural way of being is not something that needs to be “fixed.”

If you’ve ever felt like your quiet presence gets misread, or that in a world where extroverts are favored you’re seen as unapproachable or “too serious,” I see you, and this one is for you.

Key Takeaways:

• Introversion isn’t a flaw, even when the world tries to tell us it is
• Residency is not just hard because of the workload, it’s often traumatizing because of the lack of support and understanding
• Our kids deserve to be supported, not pushed to be something they’re not
• The tools we needed then are the tools we can give now: safety, self-trust, and communication

New episode of ✨Stethoscopes and Strollers✨ is out now. Listen on your favorite platform.

What did you think of the episode, doc? Let me know!

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