I used to see it more when I was younger, but I still see it a little bit today. What do I see? People becoming a chameleon when they're trying to impress a group of people and try to be their friend. People will do anything, mask their interests, change their personality, even commit acts believed to be impossible for that person, solely to fit in with a certain group of people.

I am so familiar with this subject matter because I used to be one of those people too. I would try so hard to impress people, and for a while, I was a lot of things to a lot of different people.

So what changed? I stopped. I realized that no matter what I did, I couldn't please everyone, because people would change what they deemed as "acceptable", and I would constantly have to change for everyone, and after a while, that just got nuts. Granted, I still try to please, but nowhere near on the level I used to. I enjoy things that other people don't, like fantasy games, and I love writing.

Now, I've never been more free, and that's what I want to do for you tonight.

If you've been hiding behind a mask, peel off the mask and show who you really are. If you've spent your entire life trying to please everyone, stop trying. If the person really did care about you as a person, they wouldn't expect you to change, and you wouldn't have to change for the ones who really care. It's like the old saying goes: "those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter". Apply that kind of thinking to your social life.

More importantly, if there is a believer in Christ out there reading this, it would probably help to remember Jesus was too busy carrying out the work of the Father to care at all what the people thought of him.

Here's a quote I kind of borrowed the title of this article from: "Be yourself, because an original is so much more than a copy". That is very true, and very relevant to this culture today. Don't be a copy of someone else, that's just boring.

"After God made you, He broke the mold". Do you know why He did that? He knew He couldn't recreate the same person twice, so why would someone else want to make a mold that even the Creator didn't keep?

I'll end with this, and I hope my readers out there have a great night, especially as we go into this time of Thanksgiving. Let this excerpt from a lecture be a reminder: "Come out from behind that pedestal. Stop giving speeches. Take off that mask. We want to know you." Hold emphasis on that last word. People aren't interested in fake faces, or a person building themselves up. People want to know the REAL you