"Facade"

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Standing up straight, I watched my movements.

Opening my mouth, I watched my words.

Looking straight into their eyes, I was careful of my gaze.

I've always known that my actions and my eyes can speak too.

Overall, it seemed that I directed everything perfectly.

I thought that no one would be able to see behind this ideal facade.

But looking around me, I saw no one impressed.

They'd seen right through me.

My mistake was a simple one—a fact many of us tend to overlook.

I forgot that the mind speaks too.

I forgot that we are all connected in ways we may never understand.

I made myself deaf to the song of the world—the harmony of the human race.

- © copyright (asayoungwriter) Bryanna

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I wrote this piece about a week ago, but I honestly have no idea what it is. It's definitely not a poem, but it's not an essay either. Could it be prose? What do you think?

The day I decided to write this, I was contemplating on the action of lying. Lying—we've all done it before haven't we? I bet we've all told at least a single lie in the course of our life.

Now, why do we lie? Do we lie to hide something? To please others? To remove ourselves from reality? Do we lie out of fear? Out of necessity? Out of want?

Whatever the reason may be, all our lies stem from a specific root. We all lie for a reason, but I'm not saying that lying is good. I'm just saying that lying is a common thing among us humans.

Other times, we lie out of default—without thinking, we spit out words that aren't true.

I guess a good example would be the time someone asks if you're okay. If you're like the lot of people I know (including myself), your "default" answer would be, "I'm fine," even if it may not be necessarily true. We tend to lie a lot about our feelings because—well, we all have our own reasons, don't we?

That day, I also contemplated on facades—they're the appearances we put up in front of people to hide who we really are. 

I remember a particular quote saying that we have three faces—the one we show the world, the one we show our close friends and family, and the one only known to us. I remember a different quote that states that we have three dimensions—how the world sees us, how we think the world sees us, and how we want the world to see us. The closer the space between the three dimensions, it said, the more at peace we will be.

Those sayings may not seem too similar, but they definitely have connections to each other. Just like with our three dimensions, I believe that the more identical our different faces are, the happier we will be.

In the first place, why do we put up faces? Why do we put up walls? Why do we put up facades? 

We may have been hurt in some way that led us to distance ourselves from the people around us. That led us to conceal who we really are and replace ourselves with an image of a person people want to see. We may have been "forced" by others to change who we are—this is usually for the better (in the eyes of the world). 

Sometimes, we can't really help hiding who we are. Despite the world telling us to be ourselves, that same world is the reason why we can't. 

I sure hope you understand the circumstances in which I'm referring to. Explaining any further might make things more confusing.

These are the things that went through my mind when I wrote this particular piece. I would rather not explain my words, for I personally believe that a work's meaning is all in the hands of the reader.

There's are lessons scattered in those few paragraphs—one which I aimed to express and make known to those I could. They're pretty easy to spot and comprehend. Did you find them?

So, what do you think? Can you relate? I'd love to hear your thoughts about this piece and the topics I've been discussing.

Humans will be humans.

We will hurt,

We will lie,

We will build walls.

But don't forget that,

Even with this messed up world

We're living in,

Life's still good.

There still are people who are willing

To break down the walls

You've put up,

To see the truth behind your lies

And accept you for who you are.

Humans will be humans.

We will hurt,

We will lie,

We will build walls.

Just remember that everything 

That rises

Is meant to fall,

And everything that's hidden

Will soon be found.

- (asayoungwriter) Bryanna

 

Words Fade Through Time

Many people say that words last forever. That words are eternal. That words will continue to live on even after we are gone.

I believe otherwise.

You see, what we say now—the words the hold meaning for us—may not be true in the future. They may not hold the same weight, the same denotation, the same significance, that they do now in a couple of months.

A classic example—that I'm sure all of us can relate to—is the feeling of hatred towards someone. 

Feelings, like words, are also temporary. They are easily manipulated, and may be changed in any time, given the proper circumstance. But let's not get into that just yet. Feelings and emotions are a whole other discussion, but I'll use some bits and pieces here just to emphasize my point.

In the course of our lives, we have all encountered a person who may have vexed us or whose actions didn't coincide with our perspective on things. We all have that person who somehow did something to make us hate them. In other situations, we tend to have this intuition about this person that starts our hatred towards them, even if we may not exactly know why we dislike them in the first place.

Yes, I very much know that hate is a strong word. Though I feel it best—the word seems fitting—that this particular word be used in this piece of writing. After all, it has been a word very familiar to us since the days of our childhood. A word that we may have misunderstood and misused in the past, yet know its "universal meaning" all the same. To comprehend what I mean of "universal meaning", take some time walking down memory lane or ask a child's definition of the word.

There must have been a time when we first loved someone, then hated them after—or vice versa. We may have hated a classmate from school because of her behavior towards others, and told everyone about how much we dislike her; but as the years go by, the feeling of hatred fades. The words we spoke then no longer hold meaning to us now. 

Another is the feeling of crushing on someone. We may have said that we loved the person, and many other things about him; but if this crush doesn't evolve into anything more—anything deeper—it is sure to be washed away by the sands of time. Just like with the feeling of hatred, our words lose meaning as the weeks fly by.

I can say that words are temporary with certainty because words are often mixed with feelings and emotions. The words I've been referring to here are the ones we use when we communicate to others and express ourselves. Words that are basically opinions, not proven facts. Since these words generate from our emotional status, there really is no scientific way to prove that what we say is a 100% true.

Reading this, you may have thought of things you said before that don't mean the same to you now. Words that, said by the present you, would definitely cause confusion. Words of yesterday that wouldn't fit into today's circumstances. If you haven't thought of anything yet, maybe now's a good time. Think, really think, about the things you said before that you wouldn't dare say at this moment. 

I do hope we're at an understanding, you and I. Do you get the point I'm trying to convey? Or is everything I'm saying just a big blur of words?

Basically, the "lesson" I'm trying to get at here is this: The words people say—words you say—may not matter at all in the future. Don't get so worked up about them. Don't let measly words affect who
you are and how you go on with your life. Don't let feelings overpower your words—you may regret them later.

Think before you speak. 

Be who you want to be, 

and live as you want to live. 

Don't let other people talk you out 

of pursuing your dreams, 

downplay you for who you are. 

Remember, 

words are temporary, 

and not every word spoken is true. 

- (asayoungwriter) Bryanna