PersonalJune 11, 2026 · 4 min read · Amber Adames
Saying it out loud
On the cost of speaking plainly, the tattoos people ask about, and why I started putting any of this on camera in the first place.
I did not set out to build a platform. I set out to answer one question honestly, on camera, because I was tired of hearing it answered carefully.
The tattoos come up constantly. People decide something about you before you speak, and then either you spend the conversation correcting it or you let the work speak and move on. I stopped correcting it a while ago.
What surprised me is how many people were waiting for someone to say the obvious thing without hedging it first. That is most of what this is. Not bravery — just a refusal to pre-negotiate with myself before I open my mouth.
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