RURAL REFLECTIONS: We are the storm

Published 8:00 am Thursday, July 24, 2025

As a very shy child, I knew what it was to hide behind my mother, hoping to be invisible.

Sometimes I think it was because I was small and the adults were so tall that I felt intimidated. Whatever the reason, it seems to be imbedded in me still. I fight against this need to be unseen in order to see myself and my own possibilities. I am a small voice.

Many times in history we have seen the heroes who seem to come from out of nowhere. They stand up against prejudice. They stand against tyranny. They stand up against the tide of those who oppose them. It takes courage to be seen. A courage that is borne from trial and error, from urgency, perhaps from loss or even anger.

Some are heroes. Some are hidden away avoiding notoriety. And, I truly believe some are still a bit shy. Yet they find a way to use their voices.

So often in my childhood, I heard that children should be seen but not heard. I didn’t want to be neither seen nor heard. Yet, this attitude stifled a child’s voice. One just learning she had one. It isn’t easy to raise a child who fears attention and wants acknowledgement. Often they act out in other ways. Often they go deeper into themselves. They need help.

My mother had no idea who this child was who hung onto her dresses, who refused to be seen. In fact, that very thing pushed this once child into self-doubt and low self-esteem. Perhaps that is difficult to see in this woman full of words. It was a lifelong battle to find the courage to express myself.

But we cannot hide away. We cannot ignore opportunities to touch lives, to make a difference. The strength each individual has is their own power. A power that can change the world. There is no hiding. There is only regret if your one voice is not heard.

For together we are an incredible power. Power that can change the world. We are the storm.

Pamela Loxley Drake is a Beaverton resident and self-described lifelong “farm girl.” You can contact her at pamldrake@gmail.com.