When We Go In This Store, Don't Ask Me For Nothin!

I brought in the New Year, in Washington DC. While there, I obviously went to brunch… because, obviously! I was having a conversation with one of my friends, and discussing how cold it was.

Me: It is absolutely freezing here. I am ready to be up out this bitch. 
Friend: Well you're only going back to cold(er) ass Canada. 
Me: I don't live in Toronto anymore. I moved to Bermuda. 
Entire Table: What?!

Yes, I recently moved from Toronto. One of the toughest decisions I have ever made. Toronto is home. Toronto is all I've known as an adult. I had my first love, my first heartbreak, my first career opportunity, my first double-double, my first poutine… Toronto popped a lot of my cherries. 

Leaving a word that I thought I'd exist in forever, to move home… well, that was tough. But that is a story I will tell at a later date. However, that conversation made me think of something. I have been accused of being ‘sneaky' for most of my adult life. I have always disputed these claims and explained to people that I am not sneaky, I am super private. I also am slightly superstitious. I never want to jinx things, so I tend to only confirm them when they are solidified. 

We live in an overexposed world. Information about every and anything is pumped into us rapidly. This includes information about celebrities, athletes, and Keisha from round the way. Yes, there is ALWAYS a Keisha.

I don't live with many regrets, however, I do have a few. One is exposing my real name on social media. I developed the alias Brian McLight much later into my social media ‘life'. Before that, my handle included my actual first name. I also developed a blog using my actual name. In hindsight, I wouldn't have done that for many reasons. One of which being that I am a working professional, and I prefer my name to not ring Google's bells. 

When embarking on my first blogging venture, I did, however, promise myself that I would keep that world separate from my actual life. I never wanted who I am as a whole, to be broadcasted on social media. This has stayed with me for years. Who I date, where I work, my family business, all things that do not make it online. 

I have mastered the art of smoking mirrors. I know how to give just enough, making people believe they know everything when in actuality they know nothing. I can come across as super interesting, while not being overbearing. I believe it is my way with words. 

But this has not come without conflict. Sometimes I don't know when to let those barriers down in actual life. I keep a lot to myself, this is something I have practised since childhood. I credit this to being an only child, who also happened to be struggling with his identity. 
My ex-partners have complained about this. Friends have called me ‘fake' because of it. Even recently, someone I was interested in, got upset because I didn't share my holiday travel plans. 

So my question becomes, where is the line in the sand? When does privacy actually become secrecy? Could solitude be a fancy word for sneakiness?