There's a joke going around that zodiac enthusiasts will attribute any aspect of their character or any of their actions to their sign. The meme, "sorry, I'm an *enter zodiac sign here*," is pretty amusing in my opinion, and I don't think I'm the only one who finds it funny. But lately, I've noticed a lot of people, myself included, not using our signs, but rather whatever issues we have based on past experiences be our excuse for our current behavior.

I'm not saying that these aren't influences on who we are or how we act, because they are, but it has started to feel like a loophole for taking responsibility, one that it feels like we may all be guilty of using. So, based on how I'm starting to tackle my own issues, and how I've seen others handle it, I feel like it's finally time to deal with our inner demons healthily, instead of awkwardly introducing them as the one and only culprit for our bad actions.

I'm going to come out and say it, I am the proud owner of cliche, but also still very real, trust issues. I find it hard to open up to anyone, and the few occasions where the people have turned on me have made that process even harder. However, I'm tired of using these trust issues as my excuse for starting fights with some people I care about, just as I'm tired of people flaunting these issues as the reason they can get away with saying or doing whatever they please to others.

I'm proud of what I've gone through and who I've become because of all that, but I am done using it as my way out of accepting true responsibility for what I may have said or done that hurt another person. My issues with trust have not defined me, and I won't let them define my actions, I can and will hold myself accountable and apologize when I know I messed up. Not holding these issues inside has allowed me to become a happier person who just all in all argues and fights with people less, but holding myself accountable to these issues helps me maintain the relationships that really matter in my life, and lets me keep the people around who truly mean the whole world to me.

Everyone has their own way of coping with their issues, and I feel lucky to now be surrounded by people who handle their issues in a healthy, productive way. I've seen unhealthy ways of coping before, both in myself and in others, and I think that closing off the doors to those people who saw issues as something to flaunt and use as an excuse to open the doors to people who acknowledge their issues in a healthy way without using them as their main characteristic is what has helped me the most. You never know what's going on in anyone's mind but your own, and to see people you care for and admire confront what's going on in theirs without making it the sole perpetrator of any of their bad deeds is something that will always help you grow. We should never hide our issues or flaunt them just for sympathy or as an excuse, we need to confront them in a healthy way, and never let them overshadow our true selves. The perfect stepping stone to reaching this healthy acceptance is surrounding yourself with good examples, people who know it's good to have your issues, but it's never alright to let them run your entire being.

I am not an expert on issues of this kind, and I never will be. We are all extraordinarily different human beings, and if we say we know absolutely everything about another person, we are lying to ourselves. Everyone has something in their past that they opt not to share or open up about, despite how deeply it may have affected them, and we need to start understanding that talking about our issues together is a wonderful thing that helps many people have an outlet for how they feel.

For far too long, I let my issues with trust get in the way of who I was with other people, and finally stopping that allowed for me to let go of everything that was holding me back and slowly, but surely find peace with the issues I have and happiness with the people in my life. I will wear my trust issues proudly for the rest of my life, but I will never again let them be why I did what I did or said what I said. From here on out, I am the captain of my own boat, and I will be the sole holder of the responsibility for I took the actions I take and the words that I say.