Drawing a breath, I flung myself across the door sill. That was the artless way I navigated the hurdles of girlhood. Everyone thought I was a plucky girl, but in truth, I wasn't as fearless as everyone assumed. I had the temperament of a tortoise. Whatever dread, fright, or bump appeared in my path, I wanted nothing more than to drop in my tracks and hide. If you must err, do so on the side of audacity. That was the little slogan I'd devised for myself. For some time now, it had helped me to hurl myself over door sills.
The narrator reflects on her transition from girlhood and how she faced challenges with a facade of bravery. While others perceived her as courageous, she felt more like a scared tortoise, wanting to retreat whenever confronted by fears or obstacles. This internal conflict highlights the struggle between external expectations and inner feelings of vulnerability.
To cope with this disparity, she created a personal mantra encouraging boldness: "If you must err, do so on the side of audacity." This phrase empowered her to take leaps of faith, represented by her act of flinging herself over door sills, offering her a way to confront her fears even when she felt afraid inside.
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