There’s a particular moment from my childhood that lives vividly in my memory. A group of boys in my class at school decided to block my path and insist that I say a word as loud as I possibly could. It seemed important to them that I prove I had a voice.

I remember being scared and confused. I also remember holding my ground and (silently) refusing to do it until they gave up and walked away. But this was one of the first times I realised that my natural state was not a good fit for the world I lived in. I was too quiet, too sensitive, too… not like everyone else.