In psychology, it is known as the Chameleon Effect; the human tendency to mimic those around us spontaneously. I wanted to be part of the group, the “cool” kids’ circle. To be regarded as worth knowing like they were was, to me, worth sacrificing the pieces of myself that were keeping me out of that social circle. Margaret Mitchell once wrote, “It’s hard to salvage jettisoned cargo and, if it is retrieved, it’s usually irreparably damaged. And I fear that when you can afford to fish up the honor and virtue and kindness you’ve thrown overboard, you’ll find they have suffered a sea change and not, I fear, into something rich and strange. ” There are some pieces of ourselves that should be discarded, but I have found that when trying to fit in, I am usually discarding the pieces I need to hang on to in order to be successfully good in the future and hanging on to the pieces that keep me from that future. I turned into this person that fits in, but at what price?

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