My four-year old daughter Lulu just amazes me.
She is sweet, introverted, quiet, and extremely sensitive. She lives in her own little world 
inside her head and she loves it there.
She reminds me a lot of myself when I was her age, with one big exception: she isn’t shy.
Lulu is not-self conscious about who she is. She doesn’t question what people are thinking about her or tell herself that she must behave a certain way so as not to stand out or call attention to herself.
Lulu is Lulu all the time. She loves hugs and animals and all the cute things 4 year olds are prone to love. She has a special place in her heart for music, and if she wants to dance, she dances, and she doesn’t care who is watching. Not only does she not care, but anybody else in the room doesn’t even exist while she is inside her world, feeling each song she listens to.
I’ve shared a YouTube Video of Lulu at the bottom of this page, and it’s hard for me to watch this video without crying because, not only do I think she is beautiful, but I think of how free and happy she is. And I think of all the time I wasted in my own life, not being true to myself, never dancing, never letting myself be who I really am. How incredible it is, that at just 4 years old, she has figured out what it took me 42 years to figure out.
I have always known Lulu was a lot like me, and for that reason I have spent a lot of time worrying about her future, wondering if she will grow up feeling lonely and left out and insecure and so self analytical that she would always be held down by her own criticisms and self-awareness.
But watching her dance like that, I think the biggest reason I find it so beautiful is because it makes me believe she is going to be okay. I watch her take those same personality traits that I used against myself, and use them the way they were meant to be used and it both inspires me and sets my heart at ease.
Yes, she is a lot like me, but she is living life looking out HER window, not mine. When I was 4, I looked out my window and saw a world to be feared and I never let my guard down long enough to fully relax and enjoy anything.
But Lulu looks out a different window. Through her window she sees rainbows and sunshine and unicorns and happiness. She trusts the world, and herself, enough to be who she really is and I know that because of this, her life will be so much happier than mine was growing up. And that is every parent’s wish.
So thank you to my little Lulu for inspiring me, and teaching me, and making me so proud of you.
Its my hope that through this video, she can teach other introverts that their inner world shouldn’t consist of bars that cage them in, but rather a quiet room with an open window that allows them to look out and see whatever view they want to see. And like Lulu, every now and then they should climb through that window and just dance.
AnnaLisa Scott
TheWorryGames.com
Photo Credit: Ballerina is from the Very Fabulous www.Millan.net.
Photo Credit: Ballet Shoes https-::asd-hs.wikispaces.com:Alphabet+City+Ballet Free To Use Yahoo Commercially
Hi Lisa… I just discovered this post you wrote last year about your darling daughter. As a parent and an introvert, with introverted kids, I definitely relate to what you’ve written. Being a parent and sensing our children’s vulnerability can sometimes leave us feeling even more vulnerable than they do. It’s beautiful to watch a child who is happy in the world and unafraid of life, especially when it’s one of your own. Great post and video! -Jay at http://www.rtor.org/the-family-side/
Thank you Jay. Beautifully said.