As for perceptions

I kind of enjoy that my peers who I'm not close friends with see me as someone completely different than who I am. I feel like people draw conclusions from what they see you as - different stereotypes have different connotations. Someone who studies often must be straight-laced and innocent. The ones who seem shallow....must be shallow. Assholes are assholes. Every morning I put on my disguise. My glasses and my sweaters and my scarves - I feel cozy and hidden. And they seem me as that girl - the short one, the studious one, I can't guess. Only I know my indiscretions - it's like keeping a particularly juicy secret that no one else knows. It's like being under the influence in public - you don't want to get in trouble, but wouldn't it be cool if some people could tell and then maybe think you were cool? No. But still. We identify people as having ideals and histories that parallel how we perceive them, I do it, that's for sure. And it's just not true. Underneath everything we're just purely ourselves. Raw. Touched by experiences and choices - evolving. And the beauty of it is, hardly anyone sees it but ourselves. Our remaining secret.

The Great Escape - Patrick Watson