Image
Halloween is coming up. I've been somewhat passive in my celebration of
this occasion, but I've done my fair share of trick-or-treating, carving
pumpkins, & playing the parts of The Little Mermaid &
Pocahontas. But this holiday intrigues me b/c it seems to merely be a more explicit
representation of what we do in our everyday lives.
Consider this: we wake up in the morning & before we leave for school, work, or wherever we're going, we put on a mask. & suddenly, we're playing the part of a character. A football player. A nerd. An angel. Superman. We take on the role of a new us, a different us, in hopes that when we knock on someone's door, they'll give us candy & say, "Wow, you look GREAT."
Reward. Recognition. In my opinion, these are what drive every action we take, every thought we think, & every word we say. They are what we desire most in our hearts, & our lives become very much dependent on them.
I would know.
Image - how I perceived myself & how I was perceived by other people - became very important to me last year. My self-consciousness & insecurities drove me to spend a ridiculous amount of money on clothes I don't even wear anymore, devote sleepless nights to wondering how pretty I was compared to other people, & begin a senseless & unhealthy diet. Every morning, I put on my costume - A Hollister model. A barbie. In other words, someone people [I hoped] found confident & attractive. I realized that I was an actress...a fake, if you will...& that this was all pretend.
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts...
- William Shakespeare
Isn't it amazing how something written 4 centuries ago could maintain so much meaning for our lives?
We step out into the world & become the star of the next Broadway hit. Social acceptance is our director & popular opinion is our script. & hopefully, by the end of the show, we would have slain the dragon, saved the day, gotten the guy, & lived happily ever after. & after the last big song & dance number, you'll bow and give a modest grin as the audience cheers & throws flowers at you for doing such an awesome job. The curtain will come down, & you'll go back to the real you...until the next day, when you have to do it all over again.
I think the key to us bettering ourselves is understanding why we make the mistakes we make. So, why the mask? I learned, in large group, that we try to live up to the standard that we think everyone else possesses. & if we take off that mask, people might not like what they see. For me, I wasn't confident enough, & nice clothes was the way to go. However, more often than not, when we reveal who we really are & what our weaknesses are, we'll see that the person next to us doesn't look that much different.
I thought about this & wholly believe that this is true. We are not as secure, not as strong, not as selfless, & not as brave as we make ourselves out to be. But that's ok, b/c so is everyone else! (To different degrees, of course). Living each day, seeking to make ourselves a better person is, of course, wonderful...it is something we should all be striving for...but we should also live for our personal acceptance of not just our physical self, but of who we are. I, for one, think shortcomings are awesome...they're what make us human & real. I mean hey, even Superman couldn't handle a little Kryptonite ;D.
"The world has become uglier since it began to look into a mirror every day; so let us settle for the mirror image and do without an inspection of the original." - Karl Kraus
Consider this: we wake up in the morning & before we leave for school, work, or wherever we're going, we put on a mask. & suddenly, we're playing the part of a character. A football player. A nerd. An angel. Superman. We take on the role of a new us, a different us, in hopes that when we knock on someone's door, they'll give us candy & say, "Wow, you look GREAT."
Reward. Recognition. In my opinion, these are what drive every action we take, every thought we think, & every word we say. They are what we desire most in our hearts, & our lives become very much dependent on them.
I would know.
Image - how I perceived myself & how I was perceived by other people - became very important to me last year. My self-consciousness & insecurities drove me to spend a ridiculous amount of money on clothes I don't even wear anymore, devote sleepless nights to wondering how pretty I was compared to other people, & begin a senseless & unhealthy diet. Every morning, I put on my costume - A Hollister model. A barbie. In other words, someone people [I hoped] found confident & attractive. I realized that I was an actress...a fake, if you will...& that this was all pretend.
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts...
- William Shakespeare
Isn't it amazing how something written 4 centuries ago could maintain so much meaning for our lives?
We step out into the world & become the star of the next Broadway hit. Social acceptance is our director & popular opinion is our script. & hopefully, by the end of the show, we would have slain the dragon, saved the day, gotten the guy, & lived happily ever after. & after the last big song & dance number, you'll bow and give a modest grin as the audience cheers & throws flowers at you for doing such an awesome job. The curtain will come down, & you'll go back to the real you...until the next day, when you have to do it all over again.
I think the key to us bettering ourselves is understanding why we make the mistakes we make. So, why the mask? I learned, in large group, that we try to live up to the standard that we think everyone else possesses. & if we take off that mask, people might not like what they see. For me, I wasn't confident enough, & nice clothes was the way to go. However, more often than not, when we reveal who we really are & what our weaknesses are, we'll see that the person next to us doesn't look that much different.
I thought about this & wholly believe that this is true. We are not as secure, not as strong, not as selfless, & not as brave as we make ourselves out to be. But that's ok, b/c so is everyone else! (To different degrees, of course). Living each day, seeking to make ourselves a better person is, of course, wonderful...it is something we should all be striving for...but we should also live for our personal acceptance of not just our physical self, but of who we are. I, for one, think shortcomings are awesome...they're what make us human & real. I mean hey, even Superman couldn't handle a little Kryptonite ;D.
"The world has become uglier since it began to look into a mirror every day; so let us settle for the mirror image and do without an inspection of the original." - Karl Kraus