[Story Index] [Discussion Thread] [The Asylum]
The Masks We Wear
By Freelance
2000-12-19
Who are you? Do you let people inside, so they get to know the real you? Or are you the kind of person who can adapt to any situation - any group of others? I adapt. I believe I became this way (not to be a fake) but instead to make my everyday dealings with others easier. Shakespeare said that all the world is a stage, and I believe this completely.
I know I'm not alone, and that there are others who wear masks as well. In fact, I'd say that most people do, these days. Is it because we are afraid of how we think others will see us? How we will be judged? Or do others see it the way I do - using a mask to help deal with people? I don't consider myself to be fake. Nor would I say that I have a multiple-personality disorder. I think that each mask I put on is more like a "face" than a mask, so to say. They are all just lesser parts of a greater whole, and that whole is "me". When I tell people how it works, I try to explain it this way: If you were on a first date with someone, would you feel obligated to tell them every single little detail about your life, on that first date? Of course not, that would not be wise. What I (and others) do is no different. You don't see the "whole package", only a piece of it. Only the piece I want you to see.
The internet is a real blessing for people like me. Since there are only a few of you I know in real life, I feel fine not wearing a mask here, on these forums. I can be myself, since there is nothing to deal with here. I feel free to explain my personality, my masks. Nowhere else would I let out that information - people would be able to see through me easier, then. Why am I so protective? I don't know. I just am, I suppose. Maybe because I'm a Cancer.
I enjoyed explaining myself. I hope someone took the time to read this.