It’s hard to keep your heart open.

When you’ve been through heartbreak and pain, it seems only logical to build a wall around your emotions and protect them from the world. It’s the easy option to keep quiet about your feelings, to sit back and wait for someone to eventually rescue your heart from the rubble.

There’s so much fear in honesty, believe me, I know. The idea of laying your heart on the line seems crazy if there are no guarantees. Yes, you’re opening yourself up to potentially painful situations, but surely feeling something is better than feeling nothing at all?

It’s a rarity to find someone who makes me want to settle down, but when I do, I struggle to play the games that many favour. My natural inclination to love without caution means that if I feel it, I say it. This extends to every area of my life; I don’t just watch a film, I feel every emotion of the characters. I can’t just like something, it has to have a deeper value to me. This ‘all-in’ mentality is why I just can’t be guarded — my emotions are written all over my face.

So if a few days of moping about feeling sorry for myself is the penalty for being upfront with how I feel, then I’ll take it. I’ll take the feeling of rejection and those late night regrets when you wish you’d kept your mouth shut. I’ll take them because I trust my gut instinct. I trust that I feel strong emotions for people because they are genuine — reciprocated or not, they are genuine. You can’t make someone want you, but you can let them know it’s an option.

I’ll continue to follow my heart and risk vulnerability because one day, something great will come out of it. As they say: nothing ventured, nothing gained.