There comes a time when a girl becomes a teenager and she loses her voice.

It’s rather well known amongst the teaching profession and certainly it happened to me. I can remember quite clearly getting to the age of 13 / 14 and suddenly finding myself unable to express things. At school. At home. Even with friends.

In class when my teacher would ask a question, my hand would remain firmly by my side even though my brain was buzzing with answers. After years of being loud and vocal, I lost the confidence to speak up in front of others, to offer an opinion or to ask for help.  Just the thought of speaking up in front of others was enough to keep me quiet. It terrified me.

I was scared of what other people would think. Afraid that I’d be laughed at or mocked. As a teenage girl I was so acutely aware of other people’s reactions to me and so I did my best to keep those reactions as positive and as low key as possible. The alternative was too heavy for my growing but sensitive shoulders to bear.

Now for those of you that may know me personally, this may be somewhat surprising as I think it’s probably fair to say that by nature, I’m a chatterbox who can and would quite merrily talk for England if she needed me.

But talking and ‘speaking up’ are two very different things.

On Monday night, I joined three other female bloggers in Manchester to talk on a panel about working with brands and to discuss the difficulties that both sides often face in this ever changing digital world. It was a fantastic event and one that I was incredibly happy to support and proud to speak at.

And it struck me then, as it has done previously, that there has never been a time in history when women have had such an opportunity to use their voices, as there is right now. To ‘speak up’. Tell stories. Motivate people. Share their thoughts.

Take me, for instance. I’m currently sat at home at my dining table, with a brew to the side, typing away passionately as Leo naps. Getting my thoughts down. Beavering away. Eager to share this post with you all. When I’m finished and when I’m happy, I’ll read it and then click the publish button and ta da! Like magic, in a second, my voice will be shared with the world, this post available for people to read and interpret as they wish.

As a blogger, I have no editor telling me to change some of my words or to cut things out. No team of people I need to keep happy. It’s just me with my voice and my words and it’s an incredible feeling.

But it’s taken me years to rediscover the confidence to share my voice and to speak up publicly. I’m 38 now and it’s only really in the past seven or eight years that I’ve been comfortable and confident enough to share my thoughts and put them out there. And even then on occasion, it’s taken some doing.

But you don’t have to be a blogger or influencer to be able to do this. You don’t need to have a channel or be into writing to ‘speak up’. We can all do it. In our daily conversations or when we’re in an important meeting at work. By agreeing to doing a public presentation. Or by joining a committee or championing a cause.

Social media has it’s problems but it’s also a brilliant tool for using your voice and amplifying it for the great and the good. Most of us are on it in some form every day, so what better way to start to communicate clearer and louder?

Speaking up about something isn’t easy. It can require courage, confidence and the ability to be vulnerable in front of others. But whilst staying quiet can seem the easier and more comfortable alternative, I urge you to think at what cost?

On International Women’s Day, when women across the world are rallying each other, supporting one another and calling for positive change and equality, I’d like to put it to you all that it’s time for us to become more vocal and to start to ‘speak up’ more in our daily lives. We may need to dig deep and find the strength to do so but it’s time for change and the time thankfully has never been more in our favour.

It’s time we had those difficult conversations with loved ones or expressed our opinions. It’s time we stopped allowing men to claim our space, to make it clear that we too deserve and have the right to be heard.

It’s time to speak up on behalf of other women or about causes that mean something to us. To allow our passion to soar to deafening levels.

It’s time for female influencers like myself to use their channels more mindfully. To communicate with more integrity, authenticity and responsibility. To showcase a depth which sadly too often can be lacking.

It’s time for women, ALL women, to be heard. And I for one am waiting and listening and excited to hear.

Pic by Masque Photography.