The masks of inscrutability, or are you really you?

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

As I was painting today, I happened to glance over at my companion's masks. Drama masks. Elaborate creations made to completely block your identity. Then I looked into the Art Room (we were in the hall) and saw little kids making masks. They were opaque, but you could still see the obscured features, and you could tell who they were. Are those the masks we wear? Or do we go to great lengths cultivating certain images that we want imbedded in the minds of others...

Then I went out to eat. I chatted with a friend I met up with there. She wears all kinds of makeup, including foundation, eye shadow, blush, lip gloss, mascara, eyeliner, and God only knows what else. We asked her one time how long it takes her to do her hair and makeup... Much longer than I would care to spend. I went into the bathroom and glanced in the mirror, taking in my pretty much invisible gold eye shadow and my mascara. My hair is short and choppy, so it was doing its own thing. Her makeup shows who she is, but rather than simply accentuating the positive, she makes it a point to completely hide the negative. If that girl had a zit, you would never guess.

What I'm saying is, there are different ways to wear your makeup, and there are loads of different masks. On this website, I wear a pair of horm-rimmed specs over lightly powdered eyes with long blacker-than-black lashes. And some chapstick. However, at first, I had a pair of sheer pantihose pulled over my face, obscuring my features and hiding everything of import. When I realized that I didn't have to put on a show to be accepted in this community, I reverted to myself. With an occasionally intellectual aire.

Fea