So I went on a religious retreat in my high school junior year. I had 6 people on my group 4 were football buddies 2 were kids that I joked with. I had a cool senior who was guiding us and one of my teachers (cool old lady) and we went to one room near the end of the retreat and the teacher said things to us. Now I don't remember everything, but I remember her looking at me and saying how I was a great kid and stuff but I had many mask. As of today I still have no clue why she said that, and she knew me well enough to say that before people say she's just crazy or some shit. I should have made this awhile ago but yea, I know probably no one can answer it bc y'all don't know me to well, but what do you think she meant?
[quote name='"Purp Skurp"']I have absolutely no clue what the fuck you're talking about.[/quote] Lol fuck it man
I would say she meant that you don't always show your true face. That you indulge some aspects of yourself over others, and this makes it harder to reveal your inner being, as doing so would make you feel too vulnerable. That's why we put on masks in the first place - to make us feel accepted, to deal with awkward situations, to appear to be something else, etc. Trouble with masks is, if you're going to become who you really are, at some point they all have to come off.
[quote name='"esseff"']I would say she meant that you don't always show your true face. That you indulge some aspects of yourself over others, and this makes it harder to reveal your inner being, as doing so would make you feel too vulnerable. That's why we put on masks in the first place - to make us feel accepted, to deal with awkward situations, to appear to be something else, etc. Trouble with masks is, if you're going to become who you really are, at some point they all have to come off.[/quote] Damn dog that's some deep shit, and makes some sense. But I'm in college and this is where I'm supposed to "find" myself right? And ima rep you if I ever get frigin Internet
Only some? Well, it's certainly where you can explore yourself. As to find yourself? That might take a little longer.
You only talk of masks in a slightly negative sense (may not have been your intention), but they can be of positive use if used properly by people who associate with various different groups. I'm not saying dress up and talk the same as different peoples, but useful to be accepted by them and be able to take part in their world and see it from their view. A form of acceptance, from both parties. I'm a people person in person, very few people don't like me. I feel as if I have the ability to step into their world, learn what I want to learn, and step back into mine when done. I'm also the product of an almost insatiable curiosity and Borrelia burgdorferi. I also feel that sometimes I have a LOT of different aspects of my personality going on, could have a more physical cause, but I can release different parts to different peoples.
There did seem to be a slight negative sense to it. You make a good point. Releasing different parts of yourself to different people is not quite what I had in mind though. You reveal different aspects of yourself at different times anyway. You might feel excited about an idea one moment, and behave in an excited way, or you might feel a little suspicious and appear far more reticent or reluctant. Each of these are you, but you will appear quite different in your attitude. Are these masks? I don't think so. But if each time you step into a situation, or find yourself around a certain group of people, and instinctively become a certain persona, then these differences are masks, because what would happen if you were to find yourself around more than one of those different groups, where you normally feel and behave quite differently, at the same time?
[quote name='"esseff"'] There did seem to be a slight negative sense to it. You make a good point. Releasing different parts of yourself to different people is not quite what I had in mind though. You reveal different aspects of yourself at different times anyway. You might feel excited about an idea one moment, and behave in an excited way, or you might feel a little suspicious and appear far more reticent or reluctant. Each of these are you, but you will appear quite different in your attitude. Are these masks? I don't think so. But if each time you step into a situation, or find yourself around a certain group of people, and instinctively become a certain persona, then these differences are masks, because what would happen if you were to find yourself around more than one of those different groups, where you normally feel and behave quite differently, at the same time?[/quote] Well personally, I don't often do things where I mix the people I talk to unless the people are pretty similar. I know people don't always accept people and I don't put a friend in a situation where they'd feel uncomfortable. For instance, I have black friends who'd most would consider "ghetto". That's cool with me, but might not be cool with my white lady friend who's only hobby is knitting. I'm not saying that I dress different and start speaking ebonics, I just sway what I discuss. I accept people how they are, but not everyone accepts everyone, and that's something that needs accepted.. If I go to a party, its usually only a small group of friends of like minds, but the main reason for that is I can only handle so many people talking at once. Not only that, I don't keep many people around who aren't accepting of others, but everyone has a limit.. You could say that its not very accepting to just cut out people who aren't accepting of others, but that's one of the very few reasons, I'm part of the everyone. If used properly, it can be beneficial. Usually involves a balance and not everyone can balance, I don't believe most people can.