You're Not Too Much: Embracing Sensitivity as Strength | Naïssa Umutoni Karekezi's Story

In my late twenties, I was scared that maybe there was something wrong about me.

But that fear didn't come from nowhere. And if you've ever been told you're "too sensitive," you might recognize this pattern...

I was 17, visiting my grandfather after he'd come back from the hospital. He was still fragile but he didn't want to worry us. He checked on us, I already knew what he would ask me.

I was fresh from completing high school. He looked at me and asked, "How did you perform in the national examinations?" After I shared my results, his eyes lit up with that familiar pride I'd seen whenever he spoke about education, about paying attention to the details that others overlooked.

He celebrated this milestone and gave me his watch.

But even as I held onto his wisdom, the world kept telling me the opposite - that I was too much.

What I didn't know was that I was part of the 20% of the population that psychologist Dr. Elaine Aron calls "highly sensitive people." That's one in five of us sitting in this room right now. And here's what's remarkable - this trait exists across over 100 species because it helps with survival. While others act quickly, we pause, process, and notice what others miss.

Two moments. One watch. One scientific truth about who we really are: We are the ones who process the world more deeply.

I remember leaving a meeting throat tight because once again someone told me I shouldn't take things personal, I cared too much about the details.

But Dr. Aron's research revealed something powerful: what others called "too much" was actually my brain doing something called careful thinking. While others skimmed the surface, I was analyzing details, picking up subtleties, feeling the emotional undertones that others missed entirely.

But the breaking point came when I realized something crucial: I wasn't broken. I was just trying to fit my sensitive nature into a world that didn't understand it, and I'd lost sight of the most important lesson I'd ever learned.

This watch is a testament that we are different, and so is our timing. We weren't early or late. We are exactly where we're supposed to be. Words that would echo through every career change, every moment of doubt, every time someone called me "too emotional."

He encouraged me to educate myself, to never stop learning and to take calculated risks. He was diligent in his speech - the same attention to detail he brought to instill Agaciro - dignity, worth. It taught me to never compromise my values for anyone's approval.

He was assertive yet humble, built genuine relationships through care and perseverance.

What my grandfather understood intuitively, science now confirms: highly sensitive people have a gift for building deep, authentic relationships. We're naturally empathic, emotionally responsive, and we process interactions on multiple levels.

This watch has been with me for fifteen years now. And what I discovered is that sensitivity everyone called "too much"? It became my greatest strength. Dr. Aron's research identifies four key traits of highly sensitive people - we process deeply, we get easily overstimulated, we're emotionally responsive and empathic, and we're sensitive to subtle stimuli.

What others called weakness became my strength. That way of feeling deeply that made me "too emotional"? It allows me to understand nuances others miss, to connect genuinely, to care in ways that create real impact.

Here's what I want every sensitive person in this room to know: You're not broken. You're not too much. You're part of a research-validated 20% of the population with a nervous system designed to process the world more thoroughly.

We are the ones who notice what others miss. 

We are the ones who feel deeply in a world that often skims the surface. 

We are the ones who must educate ourselves about how we're built, not to fix ourselves, but to understand our strengths. 

We are the ones who must seek environments and relationships that celebrate our depth, not suppress it. 

We are the ones who must recognize our Agaciro - our inherent worth - and never apologize for who we are.

The boundaries I learned to set protect my sensitive nature while allowing me to serve from a place of clarity, not overwhelm.

So here's what I want every sensitive person to remember: 

The world will always have opinions about who you should be.

We are the ones who decide to understand our wiring instead of fighting it. 

We are the ones who choose depth over superficiality. 

We are the ones who transform "too much" into "exactly enough" in the right environments.

My grandfather has been gone for ten years now. But every day, this silent watch reminds me: We are the ones who carry forward not just wisdom, but who we really are.

We are on time.