It came to my attention in class the other day, during our discussion about how people act differently in different situations, that perhaps we don't really know anyone. Every day we put on countless facades, as our true natural personality doesn't fit in with select groups of people. For example, I would never speak to my parents the way I do with my friends and vice versa. My parents could not care less about my friends homecoming plans, and reassuringly my friends would never want to hear a vivid explanation of my day at school. The point is, at any given moment you are changing your persona in order to fit in with a range of variables; relationships (be it a teacher, acquaintance, or perhaps second cousin thrice removed), situations (in front of a camera, or with somebody you want to impress), and physical states(would you act differently desperately needing to use the bathroom than you would with something stuck in your teeth?). With all these personas that people have, it's hard to pinpoint ones most genuine facade.
Is it when you're alone? When you're with your friends? Perhaps the genuineness of ones persona is not defined by any of the external factors mentioned above, but rather internal, or emotional qualities. If this were true, I don't think it would be possible to ever truly know someone, as we can never pinpoint another's internal qualities with certainty. Even if someone is crying for example, and our immediate assumption is that he/she is genuinely sad, the person could very possibly be faking or acting.
Yet I do not think this is the case. I think that rather than raising confusion over the genuineness of our personas, it is the facades we choose to use that define us. As we create, reuse, and recreate different facades, we are constantly shaping our inner selves along with our exterior. Rather than dismissing facades as lies, I embrace them as personalities on account of that the fact that a person used a certain mask tells me more about them then they possibly can. As Oscar Wilde puts it, "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth."quotationspage.com.
I completely agree with you that the facades that people choose define who they are. It is like rorschach test. People see different things in the blobs of ink and that shows a lot about their personality and what type of person they are. Choosing facades is the same idea, depending on what facade a person chooses during any given situation shows a persons true character.
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