"I dont have anything to say that hasn't been said before
I dont have any claims to make that haven't been claimed before
I haven't any movements to organize and I haven't been moved before
But I like to write, and I like people to listen
But I haven't really been heard before."
18-year-old Rabia Kapoor, with these few words, puts across the essence of what it is like to be an introvert who never gets heard just because s/he is too shy and quiet.
How many times have we poked fun at that one shy, overly conscious friend who never outgrew their introverted nature? But Rabia explains what it's like to be on the other side of the table and reveals that it may not be so much about the lack of sharing, as it is about the unwillingness to hear someone who speaks a little lesser.
Her story would find an echo with everyone who has been shut down and felt small because they didn't consider themselves great storytellers or smart enough or good enough as the loudest, most charming person in the room whose story may not even have a beginning, middle but would end up wowing people nevertheless.
In an unabashed rant which is 'not about feminism or sexism or existentialism', this young girl dedicates her non-rhyming, non-rhythmic but an endearingly powerful poem to "people with great ideas and funny anecdotes to share who never get heard," and "the people who could potentially change your life, but are always talked over."
Watch the full video here.