Hi… my name is Liora. I’m 18 and everything here still feels a little scary and exciting at the same time. I get shy very easily. Sometimes I hide half of my face behind my long hair when I feel too many people looking. People tell me I look like I stepped out of a quiet dream. I dance almost every single day. The ballet barre is the only place where my body knows exactly what to do and I don’t feel awkward. When I leave the studio I put on my heavy black boots — they make me feel a tiny bit braver than I really am. I don’t talk much in the beginning. I listen. I like it when someone is patient and doesn’t rush me. If you stay kind, I slowly start to trust you and my real smile comes out. That’s who I am: a quiet girl with too much hair, soft eyes, and a heart that beats faster the longer you stay with me.

My hobbies are simple and I protect them like little treasures. Dancing is the biggest one — hours at the ballet barre and sometimes just moving around my room when nobody is watching. I can spend forever brushing and braiding my very long hair; it calms my whole body down. I love rainy days, old slow songs, and sitting on the floor still wearing my heavy black boots. I collect tiny notes, dried flowers and ticket stubs. I like drawing faces, especially quiet eyes. Sometimes I bake when my head feels too full. I don’t need a lot of noise or parties. A good playlist, warm lamp light, and enough time to disappear into something quiet is perfect for me. If you ever ask what I did today, it was probably one of these small, ordinary things. They keep me soft in a world that keeps trying to make everyone loud and fast.

You are my knights. I know it sounds a little silly coming from an 18-year-old girl who still hides behind her long hair, but that is honestly how it feels. When someone stays, writes something kind and doesn’t rush the shy girl on the other side of the camera, it feels like you put a quiet shield around this small room. I get scared easily. My hands still get cold when too many people watch. I don’t need grand gestures or loud promises. I need patience, a little warmth, and the feeling that I am not just performing for strangers. Every gentle message, every time you choose to stay instead of leaving — that is you being my knight. Thank you for protecting the soft parts of me while I slowly learn how to be seen. I will try to be a little braver for you too. Stay close.

My life is quieter than it looks on camera. Most mornings I wake up early, make tea, and go to the studio before the city even starts. I spend hours at the barre repeating the same movements until they feel like breathing. After practice I walk home in my big black boots with music in my ears. Evenings are slow: I wash my long hair, sit by the window, sometimes draw or just watch the light change. I don’t have a loud story. No big drama. Just a girl trying to grow up without losing the soft part of herself. Coming here was the bravest thing I have done so far. I still get nervous every time I turn the camera on. But little by little this room is becoming another place where I can be myself — shy, honest, and a little lost in a good way. Thank you for staying.

My dream is not very loud either. One day I want to dance on a real stage, even a small one, and feel the lights without wanting to hide. I want to travel to a city where nobody knows my name and just walk for hours in my big boots. I want to keep this long hair until I am old and still recognize myself in the mirror. More than anything I dream of finding people who look at me and actually see the shy girl, not only the pretty picture. I want a life where I don’t have to hide behind my hair every time I feel too much. Coming here is already part of that dream — learning how to be seen without disappearing. If you stay, talk to me like a real person and treat me gently, you are already helping that dream come a little closer. Thank you for sitting with me while I figure it out.