Dear Renaissance Woman,
A couple of years ago I was in high school and my English teachers had us write to pen pals (totally childish, I know) over in Italy. Although at first I didn't care about the assignment the guy that I got ended up being really cool. I mean we started talking about things that I have never told anyone, like the fact that I want to travel the world instead of going to college right after high school and capturing it with my camera. It's been over four years now and I think it's safe to say that if I am not in love with him already, I will be soon. The only problem is that I am pretty sure he thinks I am a guy. At first I didn't think about how someone might think that I was a guy because my name is Sammy, which is more commonly a girls name. But now I can tell that he does and I don't want to freak him out if I tell him, because he said he was coming to visit me over the summer and this might change his opinion of me or it might make things awkward if he doesn't feel the same way. What should I do? Tell him or just let him keep thinking of me the way he is?
Sincerely,
Secret Admirer
Dear Secret Admirer,
Trust me when I tell you I know EXACTLY how you feel. Orsino, the man I love, was once crazy about this other girl Olivia (who in my opinion was a complete wreck, no any more thanks to my brother), while I was in love pretending to just be one of his buddies in his court. You see my brother Sebastian and I were in this ship wreck and I thought he had drowned (which he didn't obviously). In order to protect myself and live a good life (it's hard for a single gal in Illyria, if you know what I mean) I decided to disguise myself as a man (not as hard as I thought it would be). The only problem came when, like you, I fell in love with Orsino and he thought me to be a man. Knowing that revealing myself would not work out well I "sat like Patience on a monument, smiling at grief". It was the most painful time of my life, losing a brother and watching the one person you love, love another. When I finally found out that my brother was alive the truth came out of who I truly was and I was able to able to say again how I "never shouldst love woman like to [Orsino]" only this time he understood what I meant. My advice to you is to simply spill it all out, the sooner the better.Your secret will come out evidently and it is better for it to have come from you then from another. O, and make sure you make it really clear, I told Orsino time and again that I loved him and he just didn't get it. Like I told him that "My father had a daughter loved a man/ As it might be, perhaps, were I a woman,/ I should your lordship" or to further make it clearer "I am all the daughters of my father's house", I mean how much clear can it get? If this guy feels anything at all for you then he will rejoice to know that you are someone that he can get to know even better as his girlfriend. If not, then it wasn't meant to be, you can still be friends if you want, but either way it's time to move on to the person who will love you in return.
Sincerely,
Viola
Historical side note: Viola a character in Shakespeare's play Twelve Night did indeed pretend to be a man, however during this time one "game" that was played during the twelve nights of Christmas was one in which people changed sexes. Also, Shakespeare wanted to make a place that would provided entertainment to the people on the last night (Twelve Night) and throwing a role reversal in which the audience knew her true identity but not the characters in the place was highly intriguing, and entertaining.
(All quotes come from Shakespeare's play Twelve Night).
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