Are you.. yourself?

[Grav]

What image do you try to give off to other people? Do you want to be seen as amazing, or somehow a more perfected person than you actually are? Or perhaps you do the opposite by acting like an idiot? Or are you just yourself, take it or leave it?

[!King_Amazon!]

If I act a certain way then I am that way, the whole theory of "being yourself" is stupid, because your actions determine who you are.

[Grav]

Not necessarily. For instance: do you act the same way if you're with a group of people that are friends with your friend that you would if you were with your old friends? Are you trying to give off a better impression by acting a way you think they would appreciate more?

[iceman887]

yah i do act a little different depending on who i am with

[Lenny]

You seem to have a side in here that we never see in the other forums...and to be honest, I'm kinda liking it...:p

I do seem to act differently with different people. When I'm around my long time friends and those who know me as a crazy, fun-loving, laid back, not a care in the world then I act that way. But when I'm around people like Jenny and her friends, or some people who don't know me too well I seem more mature...in a weird way...unless the sugar has a hold on me...then I act the way I do around close friends etc.

And then there's the emotional side of me that is rarely if ever seen. Even I don't know enough of that side to give a description of it...it's a kinda me under all my exterior layers...if you get my drift.

What about you??

[Grav]

I think recently I've been trying to be more polished than I actually am. So now there are people who look up to me as some sort of messiah figure, when I'm not all that great. So I'm going to turn it down a notch or two back to my 'regular' behavior.

I used to act similarly to you. As in, silly with friends, mature around others. Now I'm half and half, but the same with both types of people. More balanced, I guess.

[!King_Amazon!]

Well then you would just be both ways, there isn't one way that is you and one way that isn't.

[Grav]

Disagree. Look at how you act alone... the things you do, what you think about, what you enjoy... vs how you act with friends. Only one of those is "you." But which is it? Are you "you" with your friends, or by yourself?

[!King_Amazon!]

If I do both of them, they are obviously both me, or else I wouldn't do both of them.

[badboy]

I act the same around everyone really.

[Raziel]

The fact is that there are several levels of my personality. I don't swear or discuss vulgar topics around my grandmother, whereas I write songs about eating aborted fetuses in my spare time. On the converse, I don't usually discuss my spiritual beliefs with most of my friends, yet I discuss religion extensively with my father. Neither is a front or a facade, it's just that certain aspects of my personality are restricted access under certain circumstances. You can't be 100% "you" in front of everyone. That doesn't necessarily mean that you're faking it to these people, it just means you're not showing them the whole picture. Rarely does anybody ever actually find someone else that they can be completely unfiltered in front of. Unless they're Mormon, in which case, what you see is what you get because Mormons are a half-step above androids and depth to their personalities is a completely foreign concept to those freak-people.

So, I'd have to disagree with you on this Grav. I only honestly think somebody can be "who they're not" if they are truly putting up a false front. Like a white guy from the suburbs trying to tell people he's a "gangsta", regardless of the fact that he's never lived an impoverished day in his life. That, or somebody who simply follows everything that the crowd does for the purpose of acceptance, yet in reality, their interests lie elsewhere. The kind of person who is willing to betray what's in their hearts for finite or material rewards. That is someone who is living a lie, and isn't truly existing as themselves.

[Penguin]

So, I'd have to disagree with you on this Grav. I only honestly think somebody can be "who they're not" if they are truly putting up a false front. Like a white guy from the suburbs trying to tell people he's a "gangsta", regardless of the fact that he's never lived an impoverished day in his life. That, or somebody who simply follows everything that the crowd does for the purpose of acceptance, yet in reality, their interests lie elsewhere. The kind of person who is willing to betray what's in their hearts for finite or material rewards. That is someone who is living a lie, and isn't truly existing as themselves.

Why's he have to be white Raz? White people can be "gangsta" too! Even if it looks silly, what if they are a "gangsta" in their heart ;( DONT LIVE A LIE!

If everyone lived 100% who they were, Grav would live in a giant pie, Mantra, a giant a.. and Kagom would live on an animal farm. Furry Is Life.

[Lenny]

Thinking about it...all the different 'you's (acting differently with different groups of people) put together will make the one true 'you' when put together. Even the parts of you living a lie. Part of your personality is that you live lies so that is part of the true you.

[Raziel]

It's just an example, Penguin. He could be black, be from a rich-ass 200,000 dollar a year household, and be trying to pass himself off as "street", and he'd be just as fake as the white Mormon guy hanging out in front of the local Walmart with his homies. Trying to pass yourself off as something you're truly not is just bullshit.

[JRwakebord]

I went to school with a bunch of kids that tried to do that. Most amusing.

[Titusfied]

I act differently around different types of friends. I don't just have 1 group of friends. I have 1 group of best friends that I act the same to all the time, but there are others that I act to their personality. I wouldn't go as far as saying I'm being fake, but it's not totally me.

When I first meet a girl, for example, I'm being as honest and sincere as I can to get to know them better, but that is just the beginning formality of me. I always say the first time you meet a chick, you are acting fake to impress, which I semi-agree with, but not totally. It's still an extension of me, just not the one that I let come out very often.

[Penny_Bags]

K_A and then Raziel are both completely correct, and it was what I was about to say.... But I have some stuff to add after work.

[Kaneda]

I'd say it comes w/ maturity and age, being more of a constant "yourself". I was like that alot too depending on which friends I was with and I noticed that I did that so I slowly stopped, but I only noticed because I had been getting more in tune w/ myself as I got older.

[!King_Amazon!]

You've actually got that pretty backwards, with maturity you learn what to hold back around certain people. For instance, you might be a pervert, but you don't act like one at grandma's house if you're mature.

[Kaneda]

I was talking about knowing yourself not how you act around people. For instance, as a 12 year old you might like to touch your little sisters ass, but the older you get and more mature you realize that, you are a pervert.

[Penny_Bags]

Either way your fucking burning in Hell, so let's just not worry about it.