Sometimes I stop and think about the different masks that people wear. It's really interesting to me.
There's a difference between having masks and being "two-faced" of course. The biggest difference, I think, is that everyone has masks whether they think it or not (though some may have more or less than others).
Take me, for example. A (arguably) normal student. I have many masks. There's the "Teachers/Adults" mask, "Parents", "Friends", "Classmates/Aquaintaces", "Strangers", "Family"... The list could probably go on. I act differently around each of these groups of people. I mean, everyone has different ways they act around different people, it's not exactly a strange thing. But I think it's curious at the least.
I wonder if it's some kind of survival instinct. You wouldn't talk to your parents the same way you might talk to your friends at school; that could get you into trouble. Maybe it's just common sense. Or maybe its even some kind of a deep-rooted desire by humans to be accepted by everyone they meet. I know, that's a little philosophical and "Pysch 101", but I think about this a lot!
Some people just naturally want to be people pleasers (historically, I have been prone to this), while others claim they don't care what other people think of them. Which I think is a lie. To some extent, you always care about what people think of you. A lot of times, the people that claim they don't care are just insecure. One of my brothers is kind of like that...
So I suppose that means people do have some kind of a natural longing to be accepted. Probably because we have a "pack animal" mentality. We aren't geared to be loners, really. That's why love in all of its many forms exists. (well... one of the many reasons, I think)
But can masks be taken too far? When I think of that, for some reason I think of "method actors" that get so wrapped up in their characters that they lose themselves. Of course, you don't want to act like a completely different person around each different "group" you associate with throughout the day. That makes people distance themselves from you because they don't know who you really are.
Kind of a scary thought... Losing yourself.
Thought this comment was deserving on of my normal face mask. I understand completely what you're talking about! I wonder the same thing all the time! Sometimes I don't even realize the mask I'm wearing till afterward. It's not as if putting on social masks is as willful as putting on a real mask is. It's shocking how seamlessly one can slip in an out of different masks. I often feel I have too many.
ReplyDeleteHaha, why thank you for honoring my blog with your normal face. :P
DeleteThanks! I'm glad you do! I do that all the time,not notice when I put on a different mask, and that's what freaks me out about it. It can be very seamless.
ME TOO. I worry about who I really am and ridiculous questions like that all the time. Glad we're on the same page though. :)
Hahaha well I suppose we are brain twins after all :)
DeleteI lose myself all the time, but that's usually when I can't find my way around the grocery store. :D
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the thing about everyone caring what others think. There's no one that truly is ineffectual towards other people's thoughts. Anyone who thinks so is either trying too hard or think waaaaaaay too highly of themselves. But that's just my thought. :)
Aaah Weef. XP We should probably never go shopping together then, because I lose myself in stores all the time. I have a terrible time finding people/things and figuring out where I am. God forbid I lose my parents in a Costco.
DeleteThanks! I thought you might agree with that. :P
:O We should all play Hide and Seek in Costco!
DeleteGuys. Guys. Please let's do that. This summer, adventure time, Hide and Seek in Costco.
ReplyDeleteI'd have so much fun I'd die. :O