Leo, the 5th house ruler

I’m not sure if the fondness for lions is because of my zodiac sign or if I’m naturally drawn to the animal because it’s a beautiful and majestic creature. Two lion art pieces hang from the walls in my room, both with flowy manes and poised stature. Eventually I would love a tattoo dedicated to the king of the jungle, my zodiac sign, and my spirit animal.

According to what astrology says about Leos, I’m supposed to be charming, demanding of attention, and prideful. At the same time, a go-getter, a leader, and a loyal companion. Well, I think I just described myself! Even before learning about zodiac signs I knew I had all these characteristics. I have an immense number of examples in friendships, relationships, and life events that can back that statement up. Let me take you back to the earliest memories I have of certain situations where that Leo came forth.

I was in kindergarten when I first noticed that I truly felt myself being the center of attention. I recall those early mornings during the first couple days of school when all my classmates would see me walk into the room and immediately wanted to surround me with hugs and shouting my name. The teacher had a soft side for me always telling me how cute I was and even having a pet name for me, she called me her “little bunny”. If there were any performances, I was chosen to be the main character or be right up front. Even if I wasn’t, I was stealing the spotlight. However, as a child I was too hard on myself. Everything needed to be perfect from my hair, to my uniform not having wrinkles. If I was turning in an assignment, the handwriting needed to be pretty and the paper mess free or I would start all over again.

I carried myself in that manner for many years in the early stages of my life. I ended up moving to another town which meant, new school, new friends, and new life. It wasn’t long into my school year that everyone looked at me as the kid who they all wanted to befriend or feel approval from. Once again, teachers enjoyed me in their class because I was a perfectionist and a charming kid. Do I sound full of myself yet? Being this way as a child had its advantages in the right environment but, let me switch the setting for a minute and give insight of how changing the situation could be harmful and almost traumatic.

At ten years old I had to move from Mexico to the United States. Once again, new school, new friends, and this time a new language. I walked into my first day of school with confidence and ready to make meet new kids my age. However, I was faced with the language barrier which prevented me for quite some time from being my true self. Months went by and I was no longer the kid everyone wanted to be friends with. I wasn’t the center of attention, and I learned the hard way what some teachers didn’t really care for me. What a reality check to have at such early age!

Leos aren’t meant to be in the back, shadowed by others. We are the fire sign that brightens up the room and has everyone’s attention. Feeling like I was being overshadowed by the unique circumstances, I emerged from underneath for the first time! I took the bull by the horns and worked hard to learn the language, master the new school techniques, and demand the respect and affection from everyone. It took almost all the school year to do, but I did it! The two teachers in the classroom grew attached to me and sooner than later everyone wanted to be my friend. Even though it took a toll on me at the beginning, I worked twice as hard attending an ESL class after school and devoted my free time to learn the culture and merge into the new language.

In college, I learned even more about myself being a Leo. Now in a campus full of many personalities and characteristics, the lion in me needed to show up even more. During this time, I met some of the dearest friends to me as well as my first real love. My loyalty to all was of great importance. Not only did I show loyalty to my friends and significant other. I was just as loyal to my career, my new hobby which was fitness, and my professors who once again, had a soft spot for me. Friends enjoyed having me around because it meant a night full of fun and crazy memories. To this day, some of those friends contact me and say, “remember how we would dominate the dance floor?” Of course, even for class I would dress to impress and can’t forget I was the guy girls enjoyed sitting by because my cologne game was spot on. I’ll never forget the day one of my buddies told me at the gym, “only you would wear cologne to the gym with your matching outfit”. I wish I was joking but that really happened.

Every hobby I’ve taken has been one that requires being the spotlight. In college I danced with the group that performed in front of hundreds. Modeled on a runway in front of the whole campus during homecoming week and took on the task of creating a new trajectory that continues on to this day which is to bring bilingual students to campus and create interest in them to pursue a career in our bilingual education program. Anything that required leadership, showing off, or being the spotlight, I just had to be part of.

So far, I’ve giving you what I consider some good traits of being a Leo. However, I will not hold back the downfalls and weaknesses of the sun sign. After collage, I had my first real encounter with being territorial about who I was dating. I had never felt jealousy before and quite frankly I didn’t like that feeling. Arguments never ended well because our pride would not let us back down. And if we were both at the gym together or even out for a night of fun, it was a battle of egos because neither wanted to be the other one’s shadow. If you haven’t guessed yet? yes! The person was a Leo as well! Let me tell you, that relationship ended pretty darn bad. The downfall of wanting to be the center of attention anywhere you go is that some may interpret it as arrogance or narcissism. I can see why and even respect that opinion, but in my situation, I don’t hold that disorder and unlike narcissistic individuals I handle criticism as an advantage because I see it as a way of improving and growing. Other people’s feelings are my main concern before mine because one thing us Leos are very good at is making sure others are taken care of before ourselves.

Although I hold almost every Leo trait, both good and bad, I highly believe that it also has a lot to do with the environment I grew up in. My mother has always given me the security to be confident. Since my early memories, she has always been great with positive reinforcement and compliments towards me. Always telling me “you’re the best one, let your light shine, and remember you are on top because it’s you!” She taught me to always look in the mirror before going anywhere. To look my best even if I wasn’t feeling the greatest. Before school, she made sure my teeth where sparkly white, my hair on point, and my homework was completed and neatly done. My sister took on that role as well, always hyping me up before any test, performance, or public presentation. This is a great example of nature vs nurture because I can tell you that I’m a proud Leo from birth, but the way I was brought up had a lot of impact in my self-confidence, demand of attention, pridefulness, and dedication.

I’ll never truly know if I’m a passionate fire sign for being born on the third day in the month of August, or because of the family I was born into. But I can tell you that I carry the torch of king of the jungle with pride and honor. I don’t get tired of the expression “you must be a Leo” when I meet new people and I can’t forget that I’m happiest when the sun is at its brightest during summer days. Every time I’ve read my horoscope, it never seems to be wrong. A bit personal but I must share so you can see what I mean because it’s so unique that I still hold the screen shot. Last year, my ex-spouse and I had been separated for six months prior to our divorce. On January 6th my horoscope read as follows.

“An unexpected lucky break could come your way Leo, something you would never have expected in a hundred years. It could seem like a dream come true, yet it could disrupt your entire life in some way. You might find yourself facing a choice; go for it and change your entire way of life or let it go and take the risk that another great opportunity might never appear.”

Well, I never would have expected for my ex to contact me after 6 months. Of course, I still loved this person dearly and two days later after reading that, the particular individual gave us another chance. I was ecstatic and ready to give everything and anything to this character! However, it only lasted about a month because the person I once loved was a completely different person. Quite frankly, the extreme opposite of who I once fell in love with. This completely disrupted my life financially, emotionally, and even physically. But remember, I’m a Leo and by nature, we always aim to be on top. Thankfully due to that particular situation I learned tremendously about myself. It was due to that circumstance that I grew the most internally and I can openly say I master the balance of all the good and bad traits about this Leo.

Every time I’ve described myself to someone or during interviews, unconsciously I describe a Leo: a leader, a go getter, goal oriented, borderline perfectionist, loyal, stern, and life of the party. It’s easy to mistake my confidence with conceit but every person in my life can vouch for me and say that I’m just a confident person. This has opened many doors for me as well as given me the ability to step on stage at bodybuilding shows, choreograph and present seventy-eight groups of dancers, and to take on a challenge of writing about me being a Leo, “King” of the zodiac signs.