In today's world, it seems that wearing your heart on your sleeve is a negative characteristic. You might be labeled as clingy, moving too fast, or even ignorant. I think that as I've gotten older the trend in my peers has been to pull your heart back into your sleeve instead of being open about what you are feeling. I remember in grade school when we all openly admitted who we had crushes on, and friends would run up to them and pointedly ask, "So do you like them too?"

I don't see that anymore. Maybe because it seems childish or maybe because we're all afraid of getting hurt all of a sudden. For whatever reason I remained one of the people who left their heart on their sleeve instead of tucking it behind my sleeve. I've learned a lot along the way, and of course I've been hurt as a result, but I think we all end up getting hurt in one way or another... and I think maybe, just maybe, the hurt is more acceptable when you've got your heart on your sleeve.

The way I see it is you can either live in fear or just go for it. When you get hurt with your walls up, I imagine that you're left wondering what went wrong and what could've gone differently. That's something that I avoid at all costs. I hate the idea of looking back on my life someday and wondering what would've happened if I'd said what I was feeling or if I would've done something differently. That's not something that settles well with me at all. So, as a result, I don't hold back.

Now, I'm not obnoxious and I won't go and leave a message in the clouds for everyone to see. Rather, if I feel like going to see someone, I'll do it. I won't sit at home and think about what others may think of me as a result of my actions; I'd rather be out with people who make me feel good about myself. I often take a moment and think about what will make me happy in that very moment, and then I'll do it (within reason of course, I'm no skydiver).

I'm also not afraid to tell people how I feel when they ask. I'm a pitiful liar, so I might as well tell the truth from the start. If someone asks, I'll tell them. If I want a question answered, I'll ask. I'm not nervous about asking the "hard" questions, because for me not having the question answered is more bothersome than the initial awkwardness that may ensue when asking personal things.

So whether it's speaking with my words or through my actions, my heart is making a lot of the decisions for me. It hasn't always been right, and there have been people that didn't take care of the love I was willing to give. Even so, what makes that all okay for me is that I don't have any regrets. I go to bed at night knowing that I tried with the best of intentions and that's all anyone could ask of me. I'm sorry for the people that go to bed wondering if they could have done something differently or are too afraid to even try in the first place because I imagine that that's not a fun life to live. Choosing to leave my heart on my sleeve may make me ignorant to the "real world," but in the words of Alfred Lord Tennyson, "Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."