I call it a gift. I really don't know what else to call it. Maybe it's a reaction ... a response ... a natural ability. Or maybe everybody has it and no one reveals it to the outside world. I feel that I can immediately make a judgment of others. I can tell if they're being themselves or if they have an "artificial personality" in which their actions reflect a person who is not themselves, rather an "imitation."

This is one of the most complex circumstances I ponder as a teenager. I find it all too often among peers and classmates. Why do people act as someone they're not? What are they trying to prove? How can one live a lie? I find it extremely perplexing. It seems that whenever a person is with a large group of peers, that person will always act how they think the others would want them to act. Rarely do you find a person "being himself" in a group. People are too afraid their friends won't like "the real me," so they decide, "Well, if I act the way they think is cool, then they'll like me." What they are doing might gain some popularity, but what they are really doing is living a lie.

Peer pressure is the number one cause of "artificial personalities," especially in teenagers. Teens often put on masks that cover up their real identity and reveal a false individual, just to impress others. A big reason teenagers do drugs, drink alcohol and commit crimes is because they want others to think they're cool. You cannot deny this fact. But, 60% of the time, these drug-users, alcohol users, and criminals are "impostors" living inside the person. It is not the "true identity" of the person. It is a fake.

These "artificial personalities" are addictions, plain and simple. People get hooked on lying and acting in a false manner to please other people. Most of the time, bullies and those who are constantly picking on people are not the people they appear to be. A false identity shows insecurity. They are afraid to show their true serf because they doubt themselves and their capabilities.

This essay is not meant to criticize. It is meant to inform and warn. When a person has an "artificial personality," their lives are not lived to please themselves rather but to please others. When you live a life of a false identity, you are unable to live with yourself, your true self. ?