"You're so loud."

"You talk a lot."

"You have a bold personality."

These are all phrases I've been accustomed to hearing ever since I was young.

Most of the time, these were always said with a hint of sarcasm, meant to be more on the side of an insult. And an insult is how I took them. When people tell me I'm too loud or talking to much, my first reaction is to whisper "Oh. Sorry" and that usually keeps me quiet for the remainder of the conversation. Let me just point out that I'm a Gemini, being loud and outgoing is part of what makes Gemini's themselves and these are qualities that a lot of people notice about me right away. I always took pride in never being shy and always being willing to meet new people, but when people around you are constantly telling you you're too loud or too much, you start to lose your voice a little.

As I got older, I began to be more conscious of how loud I was speaking, or if I was speaking up too much. Recently, I had an encounter where someone said to me "Wow. You have such a bold personality for being so young." The comment, like all the others I've heard, was meant to be a little sarcastic. Oddly enough, it was one of the first times I wasn't offended. My response was "Well I would rather have a bold personality, than be overlooked and unnoticed."

When I heard the words come out of my mouth, I realized how true they were.

There are people who go their whole lives hiding the shadows, afraid to voice their opinion or speak their mind. My "bold personality" has gotten me a lot over the years. It got me a Varsity Captain position as only a junior, it's gotten me jobs, I've been noticed by every coach I've encountered, and most importantly, I've made friends whose personalities match my own. For everyone out there with a bold personality, don't let others make you question if you're being "too" much of anything. Embrace it. Speak louder, speak often, let others know how you feel, go after what you want, be crazy, be spontaneous.

Make them notice you.