Learning to Take Up Space

Mascari, Brooke - August 15th, 2025

The first time I heard the phrase “taking up space,” something inside of me cracked open. It was like a secret I was always meant to know, but no one had ever told me before. The words felt electric in my body, as if they had been waiting patiently inside me for years, ready to be remembered.

I grew up believing the opposite. My world taught me that a good woman was quiet, modest, and obedient. I was told to be seen and not heard. I learned how to make myself small - folding in my opinions, softening my voice, lowering my eyes. If I ever dared to be bold, to question, to speak too loudly, or to shine too brightly, I was reminded - directly or indirectly - that I had stepped out of line.

So, I shrank.

I apologized constantly. I carried myself like I was taking up too much room at the table, in the conversation, even in my own body. I thought this was what it meant to be good, to be lovable, to be accepted. But underneath, it left me hollow, disconnected, and hungry for something I couldn’t name.

And then came those words: taking up space.

At first, I didn’t know what to do with them. Did they mean being louder? Being bigger? Was it selfish? Arrogant? Was it pride? But the more I sat with the phrase, the more I realized - taking up space wasn’t about becoming someone else. It was about finally allowing myself to be me.

What Taking Up Space Looked Like For Me

It started small.

I began speaking without apologizing at the end of every sentence. I stopped laughing quietly and let my laughter ring out. I started walking into rooms without shrinking or trying to blend in.

I let myself say no when I meant no, instead of folding myself into someone else’s comfort. I let myself say yes to joy, to pleasure, to desire, even when it felt risky. I stopped dressing to disappear and began choosing clothes that made me feel alive in my skin.

Slowly, I felt my soul stretch. My body no longer felt like a cage to be managed but a home to be lived in.

The Healing in Expansion

Taking up space healed something in me that I didn’t even realize was broken.

It healed the little girl who was told to be quiet and “good.”
It healed the young woman who thought her worth depended on how well she could disappear.
It healed the grown woman who had learned to confuse shrinking with being good.

When I take up space, I remember that I am not a burden. I am not “too much.” I am not stealing from anyone else by showing up fully as myself.

I belong here.

And so do you.

A Quiet Revolution

Every time a woman decides to take up space, the world shifts. Children grow up seeing that authenticity is safe. Partners experience deeper connection. Communities expand in creativity, compassion, and joy.

Taking up space is not just about us. It’s about all the women who came before us who weren’t allowed to. It’s about the ones after us who are watching, waiting to know if it’s safe to be whole.

So this is my quiet revolution: to stretch into my fullness, to let my body, my voice, my spirit, my truth exist without apology.

And I hope you join me.

✨ What would it look like for you to take up more space today? To breathe deeper, stand taller, speak more honestly, or allow yourself to take up the room you already belong in?

Because you are not too much. You are not in the way. You are exactly enough. And the world needs you - fully here, fully alive, fully you.