All Men and Women are Actors

I was talking with a friend of mine a few weeks ago and the conversation shifted from the normal gossipy high-school chatter to our personal lives. Soon we were discussing things we didn't normally share with other people. After a while, she asked me how many people know other people as well as they think they do. When I walk into class it is incredibly simple to place everyone into stereotypical boxes: jock, brownnoser, skank, alcoholic, slacker, clown, overachiever. . . the list goes on. Most people can do this. Life is much simpler when people are quickly sized up and put in their correct category.

The problem occurs when a person finds that no one truly fits any one category. Most people are a unique combination of some -- or all -- of these characteristics. No one is really who they seem. The tall guy who walks in with a huge smile on his face and makes everyone laugh all day? His dad died when he was little. The polite, cheerful girl in the back of the class? She spends weekends with her mom but lives with her dad during the week. As for myself, I have had my own struggles with depression and perfectionism, although the people who know this tell me they never suspected at the time. In short, no one can put anyone else into a category until they truly know what that person's life is like. And by then, they have become such close friends that the thought of categorizing each other is ridiculous. I think that what my entire school -- the whole world -- needs to realize is that we are all human. We all do what we need to do to get by. Shakespeare was right: the world is a stage. And everyday life is the best acting experience anyone can get.