Why do people expect different things from me in different spaces?

Because you exist within systems that have assigned you a role, and roles come with scripts. Sor Juana was expected to be devout in the convent, witty at court, learned among scholars, and humble before authority—sometimes all in the same day. These weren't contradictions to her; they were the actual structure of her world. The question isn't why people expect different things. It's why those expectations often feel like they cancel each other out. Usually it's because the systems themselves are unequal. A woman's authenticity looks suspicious in some spaces and invisible in others. A person's intellect is praised at the university but threatening at the dinner table. These aren't personal failings—they're systemic. What Sor Juana understood was that naming this pattern is the first step to navigating it intentionally. She couldn't change the whole system, but she could understand it. She could choose which spaces were worth her energy, which ones she could influence from within, and which ones she needed to transcend entirely. Start by mapping your own spaces. Not to judge them, but to see them clearly. Then ask: in which of these can I be most myself? And in which am I performing a role that doesn't serve anyone—especially me?