Don't be fooled by me. Don't be fooled by the face I wear. I wear a mask. I wear a thousand masks-masks that I am afraid to take off; and none of them are me.
Pretending is an art that is second nature to me, but don't be fooled. For my sake, don't be fooled. I give the impression that i am secure, that all is sunny and unruffled with me as well as without; that confidence is my name and coolness is my game, that the water is calm and I am in command; and that I need no one. But don't believe me, please. My surface may seem smooth, but my surface is my mastk, my ever-varying and ever-concealing mask.
Beneath lies no smugness, no complacence. Beneath dwells the real me in confusion, in fear, in aloneness. But I hide that. I don't want anybody to know it. I panic at the thought of my weakness and fear being exposed. That's why I frantically create a mask to hide behind--a nochalant, sophisticated facade--to help me pretend, to shield me from the glance that he knows. But such a glance is preciesely my salvation, my only salvation and I know it. That is, if it's followed by acceptance. If it's followed by love.
It's the only thing that liberates me from myself, from my own self-built prison wall, from the barries I so painstakingly erect. It's the only thing that will assure me of what I can't assure myself--that I am really something...
Who am I, you may wonder. I am someone you know very well. I am every man you meet. I am every woman you meet. I am every child you meet. I am right in front of you. Please...love me.
