False Faces by Lauren

False Faces by Lauren - February 2014 Scholarship Essay

“I've never fooled anyone. I've let people fool themselves. They didn't bother to find out who and what I was. Instead they would invent a character for me. I wouldn't argue with them. They were obviously loving somebody I wasn't.” -Marilyn Monroe

I stumbled across this quote once while I was doing a research paper on Arthur Miller. It was just another assignment, since we were reading The Crucible, but this quote stayed with me. It forced me to think about me and my life. Had I ever fooled anyone to think I was something that I wasn't? What's the difference between fooling someone and letting someone be fooled by who you are? Even though I didn't even use it in my paper, this quote and the questions I associated with it kept haunting me and kept me contemplating until I came up with an answer that made sense to me.

I often give off a persona that is wildly different from who I am- but lets be honest, so does everyone. I move around often enough that I prefer not to get to know people when I come to a new place because I know that it will just be a disappointment when I leave. My solution is to wear black and spiked necklaces and bracelets and other things that people associate with "goth". Students assume I'm mean, scary and antisocial; teachers think I don't care about school and will slack off; adults think I'm obnoxious. I don't tell them anything otherwise, but for those few that have talked to me and became friends with me, I never acted like any of that. In reality, I'm super shy, a little bubbly, caring, helpful, I love learning and doing well in school, and I volunteer at a nursing home on the weekends.

I think what she meant by this quote is something like that. While you may not always let people in on who you really are, you never hide it from someone who cares enough to ask. This quote has influenced me to know that I don't have to let everyone know who I am. If they don't care enough to try to find out, why should I let them see the real me? As long as I am being true to myself and those who care about me, then I think I'm doing pretty good. It's inspired me to never lie to someone about who I am. If they really want to know, might as well let them. You never know, they could end up being your best friend.