"I think there're pieces of me you've never seen. Maybe she's just pieces of me you've never seen." -- Tori Amos

I find it interesting that different people can have completely different impressions of one person. A coworker called me "a quiet little mouse" today, but I've acquaintances that would have laughed out loud at that characterization. To loud people, I am too quiet. To quiet folks, I'm too loud. To the cautious I am too reckless and to the bold I am too reserved. And so on. To a coworker who's never seen me surrounded by friends, a margarita or 2 into the night, I am a quiet little mouse. To friends who've never seen me staring silently at a computer screen 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, I am...god only knows what. I find this a little frustrating sometimes. I know a lot of people, but there are only a handful -- maybe -- who really know me, who've taken the time, seen through the facades, gotten past idolatry or demonization, and with whom I've shared a little more of myself. With everyone else, I feel a little cheated, or I feel that they're cheated. I know there are people missing the softer side of Tallulah, or the smarter side, the sexier side, the savvier side, the better side, whatever -- all because there's only so much of me I can or want to show at any given time, in any given scenario. In a vulnerable position, I'm even more likely to play things close to the vest, and those are probably the times when it would serve me to show my hand. It's easier said than done, though, when you're a complex, cautious, complicated, and cagey girl like myself. And once a person has formed an opinion of you, it can be hard to change it. Meanwhile, there's a disconnect and a loss while some see those better pieces in others, but not in me.