I never realized how much I was shrinking myself until a stranger pointed it out

I am 26 and for the past few years I kept telling myself that I was simply an introvert who preferred to stay quiet in public spaces. I thought it was just my personality that I never corrected anyone who mispelled my name, or when someone cut in line in front of me I would just let it go because it was not worth the trouble. I told myself I was being polite. I genuinely believed that.

Yesterday I was on a bus coming home from work and a tourist couple asked me a question about directions. I started to answer and the man immediately interrupted me and turned to a guy sitting behind us instead, even though he had literally asked me first. I kind of froze like I always do and just waited for the moment to pass. When the couple walked away the woman sitting next to me leaned over and said I noticed you got talked over right after you opened your mouth. Does that happen a lot to you. I swear something in my chest tightened because no one had ever said it out loud to me before.
I went home and actually sat with that feeling for a while. I started replaying all the tiny situations I brushed aside. The manager who always called me by a nickname I never used. The friend who assumed I had nothing going on on weekends and would just add me to plans without asking. Even family stuff, like my cousin grabbing my keys from my hand while saying I got it without giving me time to respond. I realized how often I have stepped back to avoid being seen as difficult or dramatic. I kept shrinking myself until it became second nature.

Today I practiced saying my own name out loud to an empty kitchen because I want to hear it in my own voice again. I know it sounds silly but it felt like something in me clicked for the first time in years. I do not want to disappear to make everyone else comfortable. I want to take up space, even if it feels awkward at first.