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A few weeks ago, I made the drastic decision to cut off more than 10 inches of my hair. I justified the somewhat radical gesture as a way of promoting overall change in my life.
After paying my dues to the merciless shears and sitting in a pile of my own hair, I put forth my best acting skills and attempted to convince both the stylist and myself that I was happy with the new cut. Coming into close contact with a mirror, I promptly burst into tears, mourning the loss of the long hair style I had always worn with pride.
Reflecting on my attachment to my hair, I realized that I used my long locks as a security blanket, seeking refuge behind the cloak of hair. Whether it be hair, sunglasses, or texting on our cell phones, each and every one of us seeks an item to mask ourselves from the uncomfortable atmosphere of reality.
On a daily basis, you’ll encounter people wearing sunglasses, whether it is sunny or not. The reasoning behind wearing sunglasses in these situations is not to block out the light, but instead to block the looks from other people, whether they are negative or positive. It’s a common adage that the eyes are the windows to the soul, and the wearing of sunglasses close those windows to the outside world.
One of the biggest pet peeves of the older generation is the inability to look someone in the eyes, as almost all contact during their time period was face-to-face. When talking with someone in a close setting, it is important to be able to read their facial expression as a way of understanding the seriousness of the issue or the amount of compassion one feels about the topic of discussion.
By masking the eyes, it is impossible to make this intimate connection with your listener, thus masking your true emotions. Whether or not people are aware of this whenever they pull their Oakleys off their foreheads, the mask continues to be used each and every time they make this seemingly subconscious decision.
Another subconscious decision you’re likely to frequently observe is the adequately named “pretending to text in awkward situations.” With more than 3 million fans of the activity on Facebook, almost all of us are guilty of engaging in this activity at some point. The root of the issue lies primarily in the concept of masking emotions.
Although it’s hard to imagine the stone age before cell phones, it can be assumed that the generations proceeding us were forced to talk to people they didn’t know, actually getting to strangers before their familiar friends arrived. Now, we text in these circumstances not wanting to let anyone know that we’re feeling awkward like a wallflower, though it’s painfully obvious to outsiders.
Masking the feelings of inadequacy, cell phones are our new best friends. Together we take on the world one awkward situation at a time. Relying so heavily on an electronic device is a gamble, though. Were the device ever to fail us, we’d be forced to turn to exposing our feelings instead, which is a scary thought when actual conversation has become so hard to stomach for some.
I’m not going to try and pretend I’m not guilty of my fair share of masking, because I am. It’s important to realize this is a growing problem as people become increasingly unwilling to open up to others and with the advent of technology, it becomes easier as the days go by.
Let us all stop hiding behind our own personal masks — be they hair, sunglasses or cell phones — and show people who we really are, weirdness and all. In the spirit of Halloween, it’s time to discard the masks that hide our emotions and true feelings, and trade them for a disguise easily removed to reveal the true people within following Oct. 31. We’re not being fair to ourselves by relying on these masks to cover up what we are. That’s what Halloween costumes are for, anyway.
Ryanne Nason is a fourth-year mass communications student. Her columns will appear every Thursday.
