When we are children, our minds are like sponges. They absorb and take in everything that appeals to us. Words, actions, even simply the way we walk are all taken from somewhere. People always say that imitation is the best form of flattery. Your parents try to teach you the correct way to act, eat, and talk amongst others. In a way we are our own clones.

From movies we watch to books we read, we see something that we hope, upon all hope, to be. Singers, actors, athletes, even characters in movies and books inspire us to be like them. Sometimes it can happen with someone close, but it is typically someone older than the child. They are called our hero’s and role models. We look up to them because of their accomplishments and try to act like them in hopes that we can follow in a similar path. Each of us, as “grown-ups”, so to speak, have qualities ingrained in us that make up who we are as people. We are each individuals in the fact that we do not share common goals or interests. However, for each of us there lies a little quality in each thing we do that was mimicked from someone else we looked or look up to.

Halloween is a day where the gloves are off. It’s a day for children, and adults for that matter, to really take on a persona outside our accepted social settings. We dress up and act like our favorite superheroes, cowboys, historic figures, and even our favorite villains. How many people are going to a Halloween party dressed like The Dark Knight’s Joker, or Darth Vader?

There are three characters that make up who each of us are. There is the social you, the personal you, and just you. The social you is the person you are in a formal atmosphere. The personal you is the person you are in your friendships and relationships. Those two forms of you are the ones that are mimicked. Every day we are put in situations that we know how we should act, because we have either seen the proper people act that way in that situation, or you were taught by another that that is the proper way of acting. Think about it. Every action or way of doing something is directly interpreted from someone else though your actions. Like the artist who paints like Monet or a director who takes camera angles from Oliver Stone. Our actions everyday are mirrors and learned lessons of those people who came before us. We mimic them and in some cases, take others failures and turn them into our success.

Then, there is the just you. The person who you are when you are alone. It is in this form of you that we find individuality. This you can be your inner demon or your inner child. It can be full of hate and anger or full of innocents and forgiveness. It is the person who knows all your secrets, lies, and feelings. When no one is watching, what do you do? Do you sit and curse the world? Do you pray for peace?

The just you is the most important of the three you’s. The just you truly defines who you are as a character or person. When you go out into the world, no matter which part you play, no matter which character you are mimicking, remember the just you. That is the only way to be truly happy. If you can go home with the just you and be happy with what you did that day, then there is nothing to be unhappy about. It’s quite simple, just not easy. Peer pressure and social settings can make us do some remorseful things. At the end of the day though, you have no one to answer to…just you.