tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post1401653442409787979..comments2024-03-18T10:29:46.055+00:00Comments on Ken Armstrong Writing Stuff: Flag Day Brings Out the Chameleon in MeKen Armstronghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775956557261111127noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-37715931478219641682010-04-27T12:44:54.874+01:002010-04-27T12:44:54.874+01:00Yeah, I do that too. I'll take it a step furt...Yeah, I do that too. I'll take it a step further...I even start to talk like the other people. For example, I was working in a store in Virginia over the weekend--resetting the store. I instantly put on my southern accent even though I've lived my whole life in the Northeast United States.Reesehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05673945616719205743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-81122549328327239762010-04-26T20:50:55.706+01:002010-04-26T20:50:55.706+01:00This is totally me. Don't know whether it'...This is totally me. Don't know whether it's having moved around so much as a kid and also as an adult, no roots, see, gotta put on a show. Also brings out the insecurity sometimes. And nowadays, maybe life experience, but this firey whirlwind doesn't like to challenge people like I'd be proud to do in the past. Mostly I put this chameleon nature down to my living abroad.Betty Bluehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02088014893580890337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-27736203927111962062010-04-26T10:47:00.183+01:002010-04-26T10:47:00.183+01:00I feel like this. I think we are fractured and dif...I feel like this. I think we are fractured and different people fit different parts of us, the same way that different friends suit different parts of our personality.<br />What can happen is as you shut down that part of your personality, you suddenly forget why you were friends with the people you associated with that part. <br /><br />Personally I find spending time with lots of people exhausting, because I feel 'on' or that I have to change myself to best suit the situation or company.<br /><br />The people you are most comfortable with are the ones where you can most be the person you are naturally, your default setting.twistedlilkittyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17908811129442710760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-86308282434810280382010-04-26T01:49:00.111+01:002010-04-26T01:49:00.111+01:00Sounds to me as if you're being a bit hard on ...Sounds to me as if you're being a bit hard on yourself. So you're adaptable and easy-going. You deal with people on their level. They're good traits to have, aren't they? As for the unexciting person you feel you are when you're alone - so what? You only have to please you when you're alone. If you're content with who you are by yourself, that's all that counts. <br />I think people who say, 'this is me and you can like it or lump it' are often very hard to get on with (unless, of course, they're saints in the making), and I tend to avoid them as much as possible.Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06949383007237428146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-69939773974909754562010-04-25T14:49:02.954+01:002010-04-25T14:49:02.954+01:00This sounds like parenthood to me. Wife-hood, and ...This sounds like parenthood to me. Wife-hood, and parent-hood. The sudden fracturing of personality as you try and please different sets of people, and then wake up one morning wondering quite where <i>you</i> have gone to.<br /><br />Have you ever read "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury? There is a story in that collection called simply 'The Martian' and it is about how one of the last surviving indigenous creatures on Mars takes on a different form depending upon who is looking at him, and who they are thinking about. So everyone who sees the Martian, sees someone that they have lost, or left behind, or who is missing.<br /><br />It's a wonderful tale. But I often think I know how that last Martian must have felt. We all wear different faces depending on where we are - at work, in Tescos (!!), in the doctor's office, even on the internet.Laura Cousinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18156390166547567951noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-61671055662070623812010-04-25T13:58:48.245+01:002010-04-25T13:58:48.245+01:00I’m not sure there’s such a thing. It’s the old, i...I’m not sure there’s such a thing. It’s the old, if-a-tree-falls-in-the-forest-and-there-s-no-one-to-hear-it-does-it-make-a-sound scenario. We are social animals, we like being around other people (even a grump like me) and we respond to those people. Some people are better equipped to bring out the side of ourselves we like to see but that the other crass or vulgar side is there to is obvious when you get in with a different crowd. It’s why we talk about a character having many sides. To take your example, what would you be like in the pub with a little old lady sat beside you and your mates? Would you mind your P’s and Q’s? Or would you be swayed by numbers? It’s a matter of appearances. And things are not always as they appear. I think we can get ourselves tied on knots thinking about the meaning of life or who is the real me as if there is one simple answer. The real answer is: It depends.<br /><br>Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.com