The Mask

Chanced upon this great piece of writing that talks about our pretentious self; the self that wears a thousand masks. It's poignantly true.

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Don't be fooled by me. 

Don't be fooled by the face I wear for I wear a mask, a thousand masks, masks that I'm afraid to take off, and none of them is me. Pretending is an art that's second nature with me, but don't be fooled. For my sake, don't be fooled.

I give you the impression that I'm secure, that all is sunny and unruffled with me, within as well as without, that confidence is my name and coolness my game, that the water's calm and I'm in command and that I need no one, but don't believe me. My surface may seem smooth but my surface is my mask, ever-varying and ever-concealing. 

Beneath lies no complacence. Beneath lies confusion, and fear, and aloneness. But I hide this. I don't want anybody to know it. I panic at the thought of my weakness exposed. That's why I frantically create a mask to hide behind, a nonchalant sophisticated facade, to help me pretend, to shield me from the glance that knows.

Who am I, you may wonder? 

I am someone you know very well.
For I am every man you meet and I am every woman you meet...

I am right in front of you.

By Charles C. Finn