masks. that little white lie. things we choose to hide that little dark side. a defense mechanism? so, they see what they want to see. the things that might change their perception, they throw it out. and you, you discard it completely. make sure there are no traces to what they don't want to see, to what you prefer not to be seen.

so they tell you you're nice. what do you do? turn into a heartless fiend the next minute to prove them wrong, and to imply you're not very nice after all? no, you stay nice for the time being. you're only natural around the people you love, and they say you're nice, so there must be a little nice side of you they like to see, the nice side you like to show.

and when the day turns cold, and suddenly, you let out a little of the other side of you, they say you hide behind a mask, a 'nice' mask.

that shouldn't change you. it'd hurt you, but it shouldn't change you.

they think, once there's a negative side to you, once you stop smiling for a minute, you're not who they thought you were, and that makes you a fake. if that made sense, then only people high on prozac would be labelled the creme de la creme.

did they think for a second, that you prefer to be what they see, because you're fighting that monster of despair? that hideous black cloud hovering over you... and the ones you love are the sunshine that keeps you alive. they bring out the best in you, and you want to be the best to run far from that cloud. so, is being the best they want you to be, a whole different side of you? yes, its still you.. don't let them turn around and say that the best you became wasn't you to begin with cos its fake, cos all you were from the beginning was a victim of that monster.

there's a positive and a negative to everything. that keeps the balance. go to a psych ward, the unfortunate ones there are either too happy, or too depressed. unbalanced.

you and i, we're only human. we want to be better people. but we can't because they choose to label us by how they prefer to see us. and when that expectation of theirs aren't lived up to, they say we hide behind a mask.

we're only human. i will continue smiling, and you should know my world is not all pretty, and i don't wake up every morning thanking God for all the flowers blooming in the garden. i'm just smiling to keep me happy, to keep you happy.