masks.

"Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth."

-Oscar Wilde

I love this quote. It probably holds true for most of us. What does it say, first of all? My interpretation of this quote is that when someone is exposed as their bare self, they are afraid to speak their own mind and instead display a facade that probably conforms to what everyone else thinks. But when concealed and protected, they feel the freedom and power to express what they truly think and feel.

I know I can strongly relate to this quote. When I'm just bare, in person, my mind does not speak fully. At most, it speaks half. Maybe it's the fear of what others might think, and I know it's a good thing to just be yourself all the time, but being like that to a bunch of people, I find really hard. For me to be completely myself to a person, I'd have to be comfortable being around that person, knowing that they won't judge. Rest assured though, when it's not in person my mind truly speaks.

Take the internet for example. The internet is just a big mask for us to communicate through. Most people aren't afraid to openly express their opinions and get feedback. Why? Because they'll never know which little speck you are in the world. You can say whatever you want to who you want whenever you want[still following laws, of course.]

I think it's pretty safe to say it holds true for most people too. If we were to pick between standing up and presenting in front of a class or presenting over the internet, I think we'd all choose the internet.

To be honest, I don't really get why. Why are we so afraid to show ourselves to people? To the handful of people that don't fall in this category, consider yourself lucky. Really.