BEHIND THE MASK...BY IFEOLUWA KALEJAIYE
I was once invited for a costume party…It was Halloween themed.I dressed as Marylin Monroe.And believe me when I tell u that my dressing was incredibly conservative in comparison to most of the other costumes…Alot of people came with different masks that made it impossible to tell their identities,and it became something short of a guess game.You pick a person,stare at them long enough with their masks and costumes,in the hopes that you can eventually identify who they really are.Some masks weren’t so hard to deduce but some,we stared at for lengthy periods of time and still couldn’t identify until they took their masks off.Theintresting part was the shock on our faces when a person took off their mask.Forinstance,a calm,gentle introvert friend of ours,had on a very loud obnoxious mask that was seemingly very out of character.I was puzzled enough to ask her the rationale behind her costume choice and she simply said to me,in that regular calm voice of hers;
“What is the point in wearing a mask if it reflects who you already are”
This really got me thinking.I subsequently started to study people around me…How they speak,how they present themselves in different scenario,how the people they were interacting with viewed them at those different scenario.And I came to one conclusion.Most people are wearing a mask in life.I realised that it was incredibly hard to see people as they really were because of the masks.
I began 2 wonder as to the reason why.Why do u meet someone and they put up on an act?Is it fear?Is it restraint?Is it caution?Is it pretence? *sighs* So many unanswered questions.
After trying so hard 2 find what seemed to be impossible answers,I finally got a little insight into the matter.We all wear masks and we all wear them for different reasons.
FEAR;A good portion of people put on masks because they are afraid.Afraid of people getting to know who they really are.They wonder if their real personalities are acceptable…If they’ll still have friends when people get to know who they really are.So they wear what I term the “adaptability mask”.This mask usually presents as whatever the people they are interacting with want.If they are with calous people,they act calous…
RESTRAINT;Some people put on masks because they want to hold their true self back.I term this mask the “deceptive mask”A lady meets a man who likes calm,conservative women.She’s ordinarily the kind of lady who likes to party hard,visit friends and hang out,but he has money so she decides to wear a mask.
CAUTION;This one is an interesting mask..It’s also ironically a sad mask.I call it the “defense mask ” People who wear these are the people who have been through unspeakable things in their lives and because the believe that no one would understand the real them…They put up a mask….usually as a defence mechanism.
I could go on and on but for time.Thereare so many masks,it is impossible 2 keep up.Like the costume party I went for,it has now become imperative upon me to look and try to decipher what is beneath the mask.Who is behind the mask.How do we take off the mask.
Behind d mask,on one hand, I see pain,hurt,regret,disapointment,unhappiness,grief,insecurities,anger and so much more.On the other hand,I see lies,deceit,falsehood,hate,vengeance and it’s likes.
This is no ordinary article…This are thoughts spewed out into writing.Here’swhat I’d like to know….Why can’t we seem to take off the mask?Is it so wrong to simply be whom you are and damn the consequences….Why can’t u simply say to yourself;
“Dear me,you are one of the strongest,amazing and caring persons I know.”
Most people don’t seem to realise that there is within them a person that deserves to be seen and heard and appreciated.We keep selling ourselves short….Covering up all the good with a mask.Forgetting that we deserve better from life but we need to demand it.Youcan’t ask for what is yours if a mask is covering it all up.Nobody is perfect,nobody should be.For the world to accept you for whom you are,you first of all have to accept yourself for what you are.Take the mask of…because behind that mask is a person who will be loved because they deserve to be,irrespective of who they are and what they have done in the past. Take off the mask…because behind it is a person who can only grow,who can only learn if there is no mask.There is too much possibility behind the mask….bad can turn to good….just take the damn mask off.
“What is the point in wearing a mask if it reflects who you already are”
This really got me thinking.I subsequently started to study people around me…How they speak,how they present themselves in different scenario,how the people they were interacting with viewed them at those different scenario.And I came to one conclusion.Most people are wearing a mask in life.I realised that it was incredibly hard to see people as they really were because of the masks.
I began 2 wonder as to the reason why.Why do u meet someone and they put up on an act?Is it fear?Is it restraint?Is it caution?Is it pretence? *sighs* So many unanswered questions.
After trying so hard 2 find what seemed to be impossible answers,I finally got a little insight into the matter.We all wear masks and we all wear them for different reasons.
FEAR;A good portion of people put on masks because they are afraid.Afraid of people getting to know who they really are.They wonder if their real personalities are acceptable…If they’ll still have friends when people get to know who they really are.So they wear what I term the “adaptability mask”.This mask usually presents as whatever the people they are interacting with want.If they are with calous people,they act calous…
RESTRAINT;Some people put on masks because they want to hold their true self back.I term this mask the “deceptive mask”A lady meets a man who likes calm,conservative women.She’s ordinarily the kind of lady who likes to party hard,visit friends and hang out,but he has money so she decides to wear a mask.
CAUTION;This one is an interesting mask..It’s also ironically a sad mask.I call it the “defense mask ” People who wear these are the people who have been through unspeakable things in their lives and because the believe that no one would understand the real them…They put up a mask….usually as a defence mechanism.
I could go on and on but for time.Thereare so many masks,it is impossible 2 keep up.Like the costume party I went for,it has now become imperative upon me to look and try to decipher what is beneath the mask.Who is behind the mask.How do we take off the mask.
Behind d mask,on one hand, I see pain,hurt,regret,disapointment,unhappiness,grief,insecurities,anger and so much more.On the other hand,I see lies,deceit,falsehood,hate,vengeance and it’s likes.
This is no ordinary article…This are thoughts spewed out into writing.Here’swhat I’d like to know….Why can’t we seem to take off the mask?Is it so wrong to simply be whom you are and damn the consequences….Why can’t u simply say to yourself;
“Dear me,you are one of the strongest,amazing and caring persons I know.”
Most people don’t seem to realise that there is within them a person that deserves to be seen and heard and appreciated.We keep selling ourselves short….Covering up all the good with a mask.Forgetting that we deserve better from life but we need to demand it.Youcan’t ask for what is yours if a mask is covering it all up.Nobody is perfect,nobody should be.For the world to accept you for whom you are,you first of all have to accept yourself for what you are.Take the mask of…because behind that mask is a person who will be loved because they deserve to be,irrespective of who they are and what they have done in the past. Take off the mask…because behind it is a person who can only grow,who can only learn if there is no mask.There is too much possibility behind the mask….bad can turn to good….just take the damn mask off.
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