text: I sit at a fully crowded coffee shop in the midst of the holiday rush. There is Christmas music and joy in the air and I had a rather pleasant chat with the employee who took my order. I have my "nice mask" on today, which is not really a fake identity as much as it is my true unmasked self. Without all the drama, stress and countless responsibilities that come with the everyday package that is young adulthood. I consider all my "personas"so to speak, a part of who I am. Little imaginary people that strike my consciousness awake and fill me up with an overwhelming dose of fresh ideas (bad and good ones, that is). It has been occurring to me a lot lately how people perceive other individuals and project themselves to the world. No matter what we do, even while being in the middle of the most intimate or vulnerable moment possible, as long as we are in the presence of another we are not being our complete, authentic selves. Faces, masks, personalities, be that as it may, they are all a part of us. There is no such thing as being "fake"or "not your true self", for the reason that if somebody is committed to be the definition of those things, those too become a part of who he/she is and will be in the future. It is not necessarily a good thing, the fact that we'd have to eventually accept that being two faced is how most humans interact with their environment, although I have come to realize that it is inevitable. Allegedly there are several sides to having multiple personas and quite frankly we become better people by periodically "acting" in front of others or in situations where we don't want to become a vulnerable, bare target. I believe it is due pure survival instinct; the sheer need to address to others that there is absolutely nothing bothering you, that you are indifferent to how others may view what you express or the way you behave. Bad figures, good figures. There is no being in this world that has never been selfish about their life, engaging in the process of survival until their last breath. Rudeness, evil, kindness, the ability to care for others, all oozing from the same dark place that is existence and its many faces.