HELP! i have lost my voice

and i don't know how to get it back!

losing my voice makes me feel like I’ve been talking the entire time on the Zoom call, but somehow, I forgot to unmute the mic the whole time.

depending on people to help me talk, relying on my fingers, brows, nods, lashes, and stares to help others understand me almost feels like winking with shades on.

how’s anyone supposed to understand my thumbs up meant “I’m definitely not fine, but thanks for asking.” ?

I digress.

This isn’t about losing my voice, but it’s about a note i saw by the fearless

Sophia Abangwu

, and even though I didn’t hear her voice, I got the message:

It’s giving “definitely not fine, any ideas how I can be fine?”

I admire her courage to tear out a page in her diary and share it with us.

Immediately I came across her note; I already started typing out a response,

but I paused for a second and thought, “hmm…this is something worth discussing with YOU later in the future”

i deleted the response and put the idea aside.

15 seconds later, my co-worker walked up to me, keep in mind he had no idea what I was doing on my phone and altered the same words “no one knows anything”.

that was when I knew this had to be written as soon as TODAY!

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hi, Sophia; if you’re reading this, I’m not here to offer any solution. I’m just here to share what I’d want my future self to tell my present self.

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Dear Sophia,

Firstly, you’re brave enough to admit this not just to yourself but also to the public. You let yourself be so seen that your LIGHT stopped us in our tracks to pay attention. And that’s your superpower. So much so that even a fellow colleague had to pause everything in his world to write an essay dedicated to this.

Isn’t that insanely satisfying?

You have a newsletter dedicated to this same philosophy of owning your weird. I don’t know a better way to own one’s weird than this gift of vulnerability you’ve blessed us with. Do you?

As for your voice, I don’t think anyone owns a particular voice. It’s like having a playlist on shuffle. Somedays, you might need the energy of an upbeat track; other days, you go for something mellow. It all depends on your mood, right? You get to choose which song, which voice, fits your moment. You’re the artiste; we’re your soundboard.

That goes without saying—you’re building a body of work you can truly be proud of. Whether it’s to create a heartfelt book for your grandma, to binge-read your own essays, to support yourself, to prove your high school English teacher wrong, or to gather enough material for your memoir titled Unmute Yourself. Whatever the reason, just know that you’re crafting a legacy that will either inspire or leave us scratching our heads in confusion. Both are equally rewarding.

Finally, you don’t have to delete your newsletter because wherever you go next, “Own Your Weird” will escort you like bubble gum stuck under a shoe.

At the end of the day, No One Knows Anything, not even me. Everyone is just out here in the gym (Substack), trying to figure it out and gaining reps while at it.

Yours faithfully,

Own your weird,

friend.

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if you read till this point—i’m curious;

1. Have you ever had a ‘forgot to unmute’ moment on zoom? Did you repeat yourself or let it go?

2. Have you ever felt like your voice was lost or misunderstood? How did you find the confidence to express yourself again?

3. What’s something you’ve written in your diary that made you feel vulnerable but ultimately freed you?

4. If your future self could send a voice note to you right now, what would the message say?

5. What’s one thing you’ve been holding back on sharing with the world that might just be your ‘weird’ superpower?

6. Have you ever had a ‘forgot to unmute’ moment—where you were trying to communicate but no one was getting the message? How did you finally get your point across?