Shawn Lim 🏳️‍🌈’s Post

Danya Atkinson 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗱. Last week, Danya reached out with a simple invitation: “𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦? 𝘐’𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥.” No assumptions. No awkward sidesteps. Just curiosity and empathy. We met, and 𝗜 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻. I told her about the therapy sessions spent helping my child navigate a world that doesn’t always accommodate their brilliance. About the moments I wrestled with my own identity as a trans and pansexual person like me, juggling the stares, the whispers, the questions I’m not always ready to answer. Danya didn’t try to fix or label anything. She just listened. And in that hour, I realised something heartbreaking: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲. Most days, people tell me what my life must be like. “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥” “𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥” Or worse, they avoid the conversation entirely. But Danya reminded me of what happens when we choose curiosity over judgment. When we ask instead of assume. Here’s what I wish more people would do: ✅ Ask the questions you’re afraid to ask. ✅ Hold space for answers you might not fully understand. ✅ Stop assuming you know someone’s journey—because you don’t. That coffee with Danya? It wasn’t just a conversation. It was a bridge. If more of us did what Danya did, imagine the empathy we could build. Imagine the connections we could create. So, here’s my question to you: 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗱? 🔄 Repost this if you believe in choosing curiosity over judgment. _____________________________________________ 🧠 Want more insights like this? 1️⃣Follow me (Shawn Lim 🏳️🌈) 2️⃣Subscribe to Human Algorithm: https://lnkd.in/gaJNuzsT