In relation to a conversation I had the other night with a friend about her transgender brother, I wanted to voice something that I feel is currently a rather taboo subject. (I also want to note that I mean no disrespect or any negativity towards the indirect subjects of this article, and I apologize if I use any incorrect terms. Know that it is not intentional.)

I have heard it said a hundred times and will probably hear it a hundred more: if you are anything but heterosexual, you will have to come out to every person you meet. There is more truth to this than most people know, because they do not have to experience it firsthand.

Of course, some people will choose to not directly disclose information about their gender identity or sexuality to most other people, which is completely their choice anyway.

However, if a person chooses to change their gender identity or discovers their sexuality is different than what they previously thought it was, they need to understand that not every person they meet will know that. In order for these new people to understand, the person who has a different identity should explain it to them.

Otherwise, only assumptions can be made, and we all know how dangerous assumptions can be, especially now that society seems so fragile and people are more sensitive to pretty much everything.

If that was a little confusing, let me give a quick example. Person A realizes that she now wishes to be addressed as "he." That is totally her choice and it should not be anybody else's business. However, Person A cannot rightfully be mad that Person B called him "her" if he did not inform Person B of such beforehand.

If there is no knowledge sharing of changes like these, people will seem ignorant or rude to others when in reality, they thought they were right and just were not previously told otherwise.

Person A does, however, have the right to be mad or upset if he tells Person B to call him "he," maybe repeatedly, and Person B continues to call him "her" out of anything other than slow adjusting or forgetfulness.

That brings me to another point. No matter what your identity adjustment is, how big or small it is, there will be an adjustment period for others. It may take a while for others to address you by the proper pronouns or address your sexuality as what it truly is to you.

Please try to be patient with them. Speaking from experience of having friends who were born female but came to realize they preferred to identify as male, it does take a while to remember to call someone you've known as Emily* by the name of Jacob*.

*These names are made up to protect real identities.

If you make the effort to say the right thing, it won't go unnoticed. If you don't know, and the person hasn't said anything, just ask. It will be less hurtful to them to ask than to misgender or otherwise offend them.

Yes, I realize I've only talked about transgender situations, but those are by far the most relevant examples. I realize there are other situations where these "guidelines" can apply and I can give another example that's along the same lines but different.

I met one of my (now ex-) best friends at college and for the year and a half that I've known her, I've known her last name to be Venable. She has an interesting family situation and something must have happened within her family because when I called her by that last name, she legitimately screamed at me to not use that name.

She told me that Hart was her last name, and I had no clue where she got that from because she had never told me anything about either name. We have nametags on our dorm room doors, and hers said Venable, not Hart. As I mentioned, she never told any of her friends to address her otherwise, but freaked out on me for being wrong.

In this situation, she could have simply told me to not use that name and to use the other one instead, not even requiring an explanation, and I would have responded better to it. There's something about when someone yells at you over something like that that makes you respond poorly.

I'm not speaking for everyone here, these are just some of my views. I have absolutely no problem with people being who they want to be or feel that they already are, I support everyone fully. I simply want to say to those people that you will have to explain your situation to pretty much everyone you meet if you don't want to be falsely labeled, and it's not a bad thing. Be proud of who you are, and you don't have to tell everyone.