Who are we really?
Every day I wake up, roll out of my bed, walk to the bathroom, and look at myself in the mirror. Most people do the same thing every day, just like me. When I look at myself, I see someone that has big dreams, and a lot of worry about how he’s going to get there. What if I fail? What if I’m not good enough to achieve my goals? The “What-ifs” come to my mind every morning. To be honest, it can be a little overwhelming at times, as I’m sure it is for everyone. But we take that shower and put on a smile and go through the day trying our hardest not to let the people we come across on a regular basis see the scared little kids that each and every one of us still are. Why? Because we’re in college! We’re on our own; we’re mature and ready to take on the world….kind of. I know as soon as I call my mom, I’m going to tell her how hard classes are and how I’m struggling day to day, but I’m “okay” and I’ll be “alright.”
On a day to day basis we all deal with a wide variety of groups of people. We act differently for each specific group and no matter how hard we say we don’t, we do. By all means, the slang and profanity used around your friends is lost when in the presence of one of your professors, but that’s just being professional. I mean when you’re around a new group of people you’re trying to impress, you want them to like you for you, right? Or perhaps only the best parts of you, so you end up telling them certain things about yourself. Things that are more becoming for the situation. Before we know it, the person that is only a portion of our real selves becomes the person that everyone expects. The person that dances and paints and writes poetry is lost among the person that parties and loves to tan. You might think being known as a social butterfly can’t hurt you in anyway, until you’re known as something so much less than what you truly are. People that hear of you and think, “Oh that person is immature, they only party.” That’s not what most people want to be known as.
Humans are naturally complex, but we dumb ourselves down so that people don’t delve deeply into our inner sanctums. We do this as a defense mechanism to protect ourselves from being hurt by others. But in doing so, we hurt our chances of ever making a true and genuine connection with another person. Too often do people judge me for what they see instead of who I really am. So I’m taking off my mask as the partier, the guy that works out a lot, I am much more than that. I am an artist, a poet, someone that watches Pretty Little Liars and Glee, and someone that has dreams of being something great once I graduate college. Now it’s your turn to look yourself in the mirror, take off your mask if only for a moment and ask “Who am I?” I know who I am and I’m proud of my goofiness. So should you.
I am: The Real UCF Guy