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, please don't be fooled.

i give the impression that i am secure, that all is sunny and unruffled within 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; that i need no one. but please don't believe me, please. my surface may seem smooth, but my surface is a mask, my ever changing and ever concealing mask.

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 right in front of you. in truth, i probaby am you.

(i didn't write this)
i wanted to share this poem my youth pastor gave us a while back after reading http://clarajo95.blogspot.com/2011/07/soon.html
i realize that i hide a lot. that i always appear to be happy, even when i'm not. so i want to be real, not a mask.