𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐞 𝐚 “𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐝”

I’ll never forget the moment.

An employer looked me straight in the eyes and said:

“𝑌𝑜𝑢’𝑟𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑑.”

It was meant to be a compliment, I think. . .

But all I heard was:

You’re not polished enough.

You’re a bit too much.

You’ve got potential… but it needs taming.

At the time, 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐞.

Because I was already exhausted from trying to sand down my edges for everyone else.

Too loud.

Too emotional.

Too direct.

Too sharp.

Too much.

The world had been feeding me versions of that story for years.

And in that moment, I swallowed the shame of it again.

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I believed that I had to be shinier. Softer. Easier to digest.

But here’s what I know now:

I was never a “rough” diamond.

I was just a 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐧𝐞.

Uncut.

Unfiltered.

Alive.

And if that makes some people uncomfortable… so be it.

And here’s the truth no one tells you:

Polished doesn’t always mean powerful.

Quiet doesn’t always mean kind.

And being easy to manage is not the same as being wise, talented, or sovereign.

I used to think the parts of me that were raw were my flaws.

Now I know they were 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞.

So to the women reading this — especially the ones who’ve been

called “𝑡𝑜𝑜 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ” . . .

Your shine doesn’t come from being polished.

It comes from being 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

The world doesn’t need more perfect diamonds.

It needs more wild ones.