I was born in December; which means I am a Sagittarius. Anyone who’s interested in astrology would know that means that I am supposedly a cheerful, restless, and friendly person. I am; idealistic, good, warm-hearted, independent , curious, fair minded, and love to travel but also I will sometimes take problematic risks, be tactless when offering opinions, and may leave things to chance. But unless you are more involved in astrology you probably wouldn’t know that your sun sign is primarily how you present to other people and how others perceive you, whereas your moon is who you are as a person.

I present as a fiery, headstrong person who is unable to be tamed and doesn’t care what other people think of her. But the truth is, my moon is in Pisces; I present as a Sagittarius but in truth, I am a dreamy, compassionate, silly, soft-hearted, gentle person. I have had many people make assumptions about who I am as a person based on what I “seem like”. Regardless of whether or not you believe in astrology, I find that this is a concise way to explain the problem that I run into a lot when interacting with new people.

I am a fire sign with a water sign at heart.

I have had people treat me aggressively in situations that could have easily been resolved by a conversation because I “seem like the kind of person who wouldn’t understand unless they were yelled at.” I’m not sure exactly what I do to give off that impression, but I get the feeling that it has to do with the fact that I try to walk around the world with enthusiasm and confidence. I have explained my personality as a brick wall before, when you first meet me, you will meet who I am as a person. I don’t put on a front when meeting new people, I try to be as authentic as I can at all times and that makes some people uncomfortable.

I have had people ask me why I choose to be such an open book. I am the sort of person that if you ask me a question, whether that’s about my past, mental health, or anything of the sort, I will answer honestly. I’ve never understood, but that can be off-putting to some people; the blatant honesty. The answer to why I choose to be such an open book is that I don’t gain anything by lying or hiding and if I live honestly the possibility that I could help someone feel not so alone far exceeds the potential that someone might not like me because of it.

Another reason I choose to be so open is because it really bothers me as a person that certain things are still taboo to talk about and I want to do my part to normalize the discussion. The fact that periods, sex, and mental health are still such taboo topics to discuss in public makes me indescribably frustrated. I feel like there are lots of people who are also upset that these topics are “inappropriate” to talk about but they don’t do anything to change it. I would never judge someone for not being comfortable going against social norms but it’s just part of the reason that I choose to be so open as a person.

Perhaps I will do an entire article on the reasons why these subjects shouldn’t be so taboo; but for now, I digress.

I have also had people ask me why I choose to be the person who makes waves. Why am I subjecting myself to potential misunderstanding of who I am? Why am I putting myself in a position to potentially be told that what I’m talking about is “inappropriate”? And the answer is just that I refuse to be subject to the bystander effect. If I believe in something, I can’t expect anyone else to do anything about it if I won’t. If everyone just thought that someone else was going to do something instead of doing it themselves, then nothing would get done.

I believe in standing up for what I believe in and I think the world would be a much better place if everyone lived with the honesty and integrity to be who they really are. I have hopes that we as a society are moving toward that reality but I understand that it will probably take a while. And until then, I’m alright being one of the odd few who lives with blatant honesty, because I might inspire others to do the same, and that’s enough for me.