We seem to become the “family appropriate” version of ourselves when visiting relatives. Whether it’s a god you do or don’t actually believe in, or the topic of sexual orientation that tends to be avoided at all costs.

Fear of not being accepted is good motivation to hide the truth that we shed around those certain people. Fear of being ridiculed or not taken seriously. Not wanting to be put down or ignored. There is an excuse for everything. It’s easy to find a reason to protect ourselves or other from the possible outcomes of the truth.

Many motivational videos and websites tell us to be true to ourselves, and those around us by being completely honest and unashamed by the things we keep hidden out of fear. But sometimes that fear is justified.

“My family is super religious, so very few of my relatives know the truth. The majority of my family thinks I am a naturally blonde Christian woman,” said an anonymous freshman at Cuesta Community College, a recent graduate of San Luis Obispo High School.

The stories are endless regarding who people become in different environments. Different groups of friends or separate sides of the family or alone in our rooms.

What stories have you heard?