I have noticed something in my everyday interactions in America: how comfortable some people seem to be taking up space. They speak freely, start conversations easily, and appear unconcerned about whether everyone around them can hear.

I am sitting in an orthodontist’s office as I write this. A few families are waiting. A woman walks in, recognizes someone, and starts chatting at a perfectly audible volume. Meanwhile, the rest of us are speaking quietly.

I cannot know how confident she feels. Speaking loudly is not necessarily confidence, just as speaking softly is not necessarily its absence. Still, her ease makes me notice my own habits.

When I am at a restaurant or in a taxi with my family, I sometimes lower my voice so much that it annoys them. They have to ask me to speak up. I think I am being considerate, but I wonder whether I am also trying too hard to avoid being noticed.

There is something I admire in the ease I have observed among many Americans. It makes me want to examine why I sometimes feel the need to make myself quieter, even when there is no reason to.

I want to speak at a volume my family can comfortably hear. I want to join a conversation without rehearsing my contribution several times. And I want to feel that my presence is as ordinary and welcome as anyone else’s.

This is a personal observation, shaped by the people and situations I have encountered. I would not turn it into a judgment about an entire culture. But it has helped me recognize something I would like to change in myself.

थोड़ा और खुलकर बोल सकूँ। अपनी जगह पर सहज महसूस कर सकूँ।

बस इतना सा ख़्वाब है!