People Pleaser

Who would you like to sit before you today, what is your pleasure? I assure you, look at

me in different light because I can be whatever you want. I belong to a society populated by chameleons: people who constantly change personalities to appease their company. I call this morphing ability the chameleon-complex, in which there are two degrees: the complete chameleon and the partial chameleon. Which are we? This is a personal awareness many do not care to reach. In fact, most would rather swallow glass. But, after we make this realization, we look for someone or something to blame (could it be the media, peer pressure, or even our parents?!).

After stammering through this process, the issue becomes: how deep are we buried beneath the ribbon, bows, and paper we are hidden under after years of re-packaging ourselves? Can we regain personal freedom lying just on the other side of the paper?

You may ask, when do we develop into chameleons? Where do we go wrong as a society? What kind of exterminator do we need to call? I don’t think we are inherently born with a chameleon-complex; I believe we develop them over time. Many factors contribute to the complex, society being the most prominent. From a young age everyone has a deep-seeded need to belong; we become what others desire and dream. All of a sudden, without warning or our permission, the labels and concepts people invent overrun our individuality. I once heard it takes a person six seconds or less to judge you when first introduced—this is quite a burden for anyone. Instinctively, we begin to accept these labels, all the while losing a bit of ourselves in the midst of pleasing others. Then, we spend years attempting to regain the uncensored individual who was buried so ...

... middle of paper ...

...t it. Such blamees aren’t responsible for chameleon-complexes, they merely function as crutches. If they were to blame, then why read or grow past the age of ten?

The bottom line is I am an eighteen-year-old, still peeling back the layers of my packaging. I spent years developing my chameleon-complex in the chase for perfection. I’ve come to realize I am perfect, not necessarily to myself or others, but I do know I was fearfully and wonderfully created by God with a distinct purpose. I present myself to you packaged, not by me but by you. I believe the partial chameleon-complex is a gift, enabling us to facilitate others in personal growth. But it may also serve as a hindrance, giving people false identities. So, who would you like to sit before you today, what is your pleasure? I assure you, look at me in different light because I can become whatever you want.