Lately, I’ve been getting comments that I’m not used to receiving. Since I’ve come to college, I’ve been hearing more and more that I’m a “loud person.”  

I never know how to respond to this, because I’ve rarely ever been described that way. I wouldn’t argue that I’m a quiet individual by any means, but enough to be loud? I project my voice, and laughing is one of my favorite things to do, but I don’t think that makes me loud. Even if this were the case, I find it hard to wrap my head around why it’s such a negative thing.  

What’s wrong with people speaking passionately or just at a higher volume? What’s so wrong with expressing emotion visibly enough for people to feel it too? For someone to share with you the intense emotions they’re experiencing? 

If you ask me, one of the most gratifying feelings in the world is sensing another person warm up to you enough to speak comfortably in their own nature and inflection. For another individual to be able to cry, yell, and belly laugh without fearing being judged or misunderstood. 

I’m not proposing we all accept someone screaming in your face or being a public distraction, but I think the fact that someone feels comfortable enough to show extreme excitement, happiness, gratitude or whatever emotion they are expressing is something to be valued and celebrated, rather than subtly shamed. For example, asking someone to “calm down” when they’re happy has to be one of the worst things you can do as a friend or decent human.  In my personal experience, when someone tells me a joke is “not that funny” or that I “need to relax,” it doesn’t do anything other than make me want to stop interacting with them as my genuine, true self.  

We all share a collective responsibility to look after one another. Being more mindful of the way you react to others’ vulnerability is a significant first step to doing that.