Malcolm Gladwell's Unauthentic Life

Imagine a person who goes to a job interview. The interviewer’s first question may be an easy one-- “what is your name?” The response to such a simple question is automatic, requiring no thought. Now imagine that the second question asked is “who are you, and how do you know?” The interviewee may grapple for the right words to say and sheepishly list a variety of personality traits, which he is supposedly endowed with because his friends “told him so.” A person is able to know who his true self is not by outward confirmation from others, but through self-observation, taking note of how he acts when he is alone, untainted by the influences of family members and friends. In a society which judges people harshly, it is unsurprising that people act differently alone than when in the company of others; thus, to be a genuine person is to act the way one feels inwardly despite external influences such as peer pressure, which causes one to act in a way which is not consistent with his or her values and beliefs. Being authentic is a special breed itself, as it requires courage to live by how one truly feels and not to live by the opinions of others. Through the changing of core beliefs and numbing of emotions, some people choose to live

Though Impressionist painters such as Monet and Degas are famously known today, they were largely rejected and criticized by society for their non-traditional paintings during nineteenth century France; they were even rejected from having their paintings shown in the prestigious Salon, an exhibition which marked the pinnacle of any artist’s career in France. If an artist’s work was accepted into the Salon, it would be seen by millions of people who swarm to the exhibition held in early May, creating widespread popularity and