The Series of Teen Misfortunes - Episode 2: Alter Egos
Sometimes, we teens have no choice but to have alter egos. That's because different people have different impressions about our personalities, and we feel somehow pressurised to act according to what they think we're like when we're around them, instead of acting like ourselves.
Why? To avoid avoidable problems. Problems like them suspecting we're the multi-personality type (and no one likes those kinds of people!) or them questioning us why we're acting so 'differently' all of a sudden.
If I were to go around (in disguise) asking various people to summarise my personality, the results may look something like this:
Acquaintance Y: Oh, she's just the quiet, bookworm type.
Acquaintance X: One word: goody-two-shoes. Oh wait, that's three words...
Friend A: She's quite chatty and outspoken, with occasional bouts of mischief! =)
My parents: She's a diligent student. Quite fearless, with the exception of lizards and some insects. She likes watching open-heart surgeries on television! (breaks into a 'my daughter is going to become a doctor/surgeon when she grows up' grin).
If you carry out this same exercise, you may find that you can only be yourself around a select few people, perhaps your family and your really close friends.
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So, keeping track of who thinks what about you and ensuring that you act that way around those certain people = STRESS!!! = another teen misfortune :-(
But you may be wondering, 'how do people get such an impression of me?'. Well, people, especially teens, tend to be judgmental. Just because you were quiet in a certain class because you were paying attention, people may immediately conclude you're the quiet, hardworking type. Just because you were feeling especially happy and you were jumping around and laughing for a few minutes, people may think you're a diva. Just because you studied hard for a certain exam and happened to get good marks, people may think you're an intellect and bookworm.
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