Who I Am

Last Saturday, I watched the new Batman Begins movie and it got me thinking, which I don't necessarily like to do when I'm watching a movie, but hey what can you do. Anyways, in some ways, each of us can be compared to the fictional character Bruce Wayne and his menacing alter ego the caped crusader Batman. Whether or not you are a comic book fan, watched the old school television show, and/or seen all trilogies you know, next to Superman, he is considered an icon. An icon that we've all grown up with and probably, if you are a little boy, dressed up in a costume for Halloween. Essentially, he's two sides of a very complex individual character and if you think about it, we can see a bit of ourselves in him.

In a sense, even though we all aren't rich or fight crime, each of us have two sides to us that people either see or you don't want them to see. It's that proverbial mask that one puts on in order to hide something such as anger and pain, whether it's physical or emotional. For some people can mask it through humor, smiling, or simple sarcasm and initially nobody would know something is wrong. In some aspect, people have seen or felt a small portion of what one tries to keep hidden from people; but inevitably he, she, or they will eventually find out. It's at that point where a person will learn if the people that have stuck by you will continue to stick by you no matter what.

In any case, we all have a Bruce Wayne side to ourselves that represents the sociable aspect of our life. It's that need or want for companionship, whether it's a person or friendly interaction, we all crave to be around people because we don't want to feel left out of the so-called party of life. It's within that party of life that one mingles with people to where we find potential friends and possibly that someone special who you either do or don't hit off immediately with. For its basically the confidence we oftentimes exude that attracts people in our direction, which can either work for us or against us depending on the level of confidence. Let me ask you this question, does your confidence make you an enjoyable person to be around?

On the other hand, there is that Batman side which represents our anti-social aspect of our life. Without question, we all want to be left alone when we're surrounded by people in our ear on a seemingly constant basis. For we all hide within our own metaphorical bat cave where we sit and mull over our thoughts. For it is in that deep dark cave of our own minds that we look deep into our heart and soul. A journey that each one of us has gone on and the answers we sometimes are looking for are found or not found at all when reflecting back at our lives then till now. For the most part, it can at times be a depressing journey and yet when we step out of our metaphorical bat cave, we can feel a whole lot better.

In retrospect, there will always be that inner struggle to find out who we truly are as a person and whether or not we will like who we find at the end of our quest. As I said before, we all wear a mask but the question is, which mask reveals the real you? Is it the mask that people see every day or is it the mask you tend to hide from people? For that particular question will have to be left up to you to figure out because you only know the answer to that. It can either be difficult or easy and it's just a matter of how truly comfortable you are with yourself on the inside, as well as, out. There comes a point where you just have to either accept or deny who you really are and not run away from it. In the end, if you are truly honest with yourself and choose the right mask, then you can most definitely say that is who I am.