If you follow my Twitter, the this discussion will probably come as no surprise. Let's preface with two things:

A.) I am a huge fan of Facebook for general connections on a surface level
B.) I am a HUGE fan of the "hide" option on Facebook for the safety and security of my sanity and my overall mental well-being

Annoying exes who send a friend req and you feel a bit obligated to, well, oblige? Hidden. Relatives who annoy you to no end?  Hidden. Neighbor you actually fucking hate but want to maintain a sense of camaraderie and peace at the PTA meetings and at the park? Hidden. Girl who you vaguely knew in high school and insists on breeding drama like bunnies while putting legit, grade 'A' narcissists to shame? Hidden.

(And no, I don't want to discuss the merits of deletion vs. the option to hide. I feel justified in stating 99.9% of the time--IMHO--deleting breeds more drama than it's worth. Hiding is where. it's. at Thanks, facebook, for this wonderful, sanity-saving option!)

So...KWIM?

Good, let's continue.

That said, four people on my facebook today--wait, reread this: four people on my facebook today--deemed it time for a reinvention of self.

Can you hear my eyes rolling around throughout my skull? Oh, good. I thought you probably could. Probably over rush hour traffic, even.

Let's pull this phrase apart focusing on these two terms: 'reinvent' and 'self'

Am I the only person who feels this is tremendous oxymoron? Why the fuck would you need to reinvent yourself...ever?

Here's my deal with this: you are you. Simplistic and clean, but it's the truth: you are you. All the parts of you: the quirky aspects, the kind aspects, the bitchy aspect...you are still you. How do you reinvent this, pray tell? Choose a new path? Try to convince a slew of people for the millionth time that you're something that you're not--bigger, better, smarter, faster than you appear?

This is not the same as changing over time. In human nature, it's virtually impossible to avoid changing at least a little over time and in most cases, I think this is an element of humanity for which we all could stand to be a little thankful. For example, I'm less gossipy than I was, say, ten years ago, and I also love tomato on everything (although in fairness, that's only surfaced in the past, say, five years or so). Bam. There you have it: changes. Nothing major, nothing groundbreaking. Just minor things--elements that come with the tides of growing older and growing up.  I tend to feel that people who need to launch a formal reinvention of self are simply selecting a new mask--a new disguise for today, this week, this month, this year. How can you ever hope to truly connect with *anyone* if you're constantly reinventing this persona you feel you desperately need to maintain? Here's my advice: drop that shit like a bad habit. If it's insecurity dragging you down, fix it. If it's boredom, spice things up. You don't need to be new and exciting. You don't need to bring something fantastic to a foreign table. Because really? At the end of the day it's all bullshit. The people who love you will love you--for you, as you. If they don't, or can't/won't accept you as you are, then they never really loved you in the first place. But if you're constantly reinventing yourself, how would they ever know the 'real' you anyway? And really, how would *you* ever know the 'real' you anyway?

There you have it, folks. This rant was brought to you by the letters P, M, and S. But even still? This is not a new sentiment for me.

Stop with the reinvention madness, people. At the end of the day, you're still who you were at the beginning.

<3