When I was younger, I didn’t realize I was mildly unsettling to be around and that this was because I was simultaneously very relaxed while at the same time being, for lack of a better term, coiled. Most people have never been around a person who is both chill and ready to pounce.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to conceal the hypervigilance aspect of my personality but in reality it’s always there and always will be. I don’t mind it. My “relaxed” is not like other people’s “relaxed” and that’s ok.

But I will never wear headphones in public.