Inside the Mind of a Phony

by Julia Biederman

People see you as stronger than you actually are.
We don’t realize it, but they do. They believe you are brighter, cooler, and more confident than you could ever dream of being in reality.
That’s why instead of empathizing with your misfortune, they resent you and see your mistakes as evidence of malice.
And we bemoan our bad luck and wonder why the people who used to be our friends don’t see our struggle and pity our plight.
We assume they see our vulnerability the way that we can feel it.
We think our insecurities and sadness appear like a feature on our face.
But those things are hidden far below our surfaces, revealing themselves only to those who care to look or who are insightful enough to notice, and those people are far and few between.
Most assume that every action, every decision is made with a clear head and a full understanding of the potential consequences.
They think the way we appear is the way we choose to appear.
If we choose, we could find this denseness, this fundamental human blockade of understanding as frustrating and we could let ourselves go mad with the fury of not being understood and the pain of being persecuted when we should be cared for.
Or we can take this flaw and use it for ourselves.
We can utilize that assumed confidence, take our fabricated power and control it.
Be as in control as we are perceived.
Because when you hurt instead of inspire pity and when you are cold instead of helpless
You have won.