People make me laugh

OK, first off, I know, two posts in one day... what is going on here? But get ready reader(s), this is not my normal post so be prepared, be forewarned, proceed with extreme caution. People make me laugh. I know, its a blanket statement. Steve Carell on The Office makes me laugh constantly. People do stupid things all the time that makes me laugh. But no friends, this is a different kind of laugh. It's not a "ha, ha you did/said something funny" laugh, it's a "wow, I just realized something about you that puts everything you have ever said or done into perspective" kind of laugh. A "now I see the true you" laugh you deceive me no longer for now I know... you, the person that you are not the one I thought you were.

I used to wonder why phony people are phony. Why cant they just be real, genuine, themselves? What is to be gained from being phony? Wouldn't you be happier being real? But the longer I live, the more life I see and the more people I encounter has made me realize that phony people are being real. They are being genuine and unfortunately they are being themselves. You see being phony is not an act. Well, OK, maybe at first it is, when you are trying to fit in with a new group of people; like in junior high or high school or even college. Should it end there, college?

Shouldn't we, as we grow older, stop being phony? Stop playing the game. Shouldn't we realize that if someone doesn't like us for who we are that their friendship is not worth having? Shouldn't we be our genuine selves. You know, that person you are at home, when "the cool kids" aren't around. The person you are when you are with the people who have known you forever, have seen you fail and continued to stand by your side, who are themselves when they are around you.

Sure, of course we should, but we don't. Its become second nature to be phony. To put on a front, to fit in. Why shouldn't I like whatever everyone else likes? Why shouldn't I do what everyone else does? They look like they are having fun, they are the cool people. They have all the friends, if I am their friend then I am cool too. Ah, the pull is strong, and giving in to being phony is all to easy. Much like giving in to the Dark Side of the Force (Sorry, I'm a Star Wars geek) it feels good because you are getting what you want, but the consequences... the consequences. You are now no longer being phony. You are being yourself. You have become a chameleon, you adapt to your surroundings in order to fit in, because there is nothing worse than not fitting in.

So where does my laughing come in? When the person does something that allows me to see through the phoniness to the person that is inside. Like I said, its not a funny laugh, its a... I don't know how to explain it. But I am glad that I have seen the true person, through the phony exterior, because now I know how to proceed. Now when I see the person and their phony exterior I can laugh. When I watch their struggle to be the chameleon I can laugh. Because I now know something about you that you dont want me to know, I can laugh. I guess its a pity laugh. I know we all fall prey to being the chameleon at times.

But for those out there who live the chameleons life 24/7... for you I am truly sorry. Because you may never know the life that you should have, where people are your friends because they like you not the you you want them to think you are. Not the chameleon you, the real you. The you that is hidden deep down inside. The you that is bursting to get out and be free. The you that you wish you could be but never will be because someone else might not like that you. For you, I am sorry.