The Armor We Wear

Courage and Facades
Written By: Cindy Odoño Monterey

Every person has their own personality; it changes depending on situations, circumstances, and the people around them. There are jolly, awkward, soft, and strong people, but the real question here is, “Is that really who they are?” 

Every day, we strive to survive in the battle of life, but we do not have a choice but to face it, with the courage and the personality that we chose. Choosing a facade is like setting up a barrier that will protect us from being hurt. Some of us are dealing with our own battles, displaying a strong personality, but little do they know that we are soft on the inside and that we can explode any time like an atomic bomb. Sometimes, we intend to be strong because we are scared—scared to look weak and that this weakness will be used by our enemy to swallow us whole. 

The personality we show as our facade is somehow the basis of how people deal with and treat us. Mostly, they judge us based on the personality that they see without even knowing who we really are. What can we do? We cannot please everyone. We may look tough, battling obstacles in life, yet we are hurting inside. We cannot do anything to defend ourselves because we choose this facade of ours, thinking that it is the best for us. 

It is exhausting to portray a personality because we want to protect ourselves from being broken. We do not know how long we can hold on to this, but all we must do is to have a little bit of compassion and understanding for other people. And maybe, others will be more compassionate and understanding as well. 

To the strong but soft-hearted and fragile person I know, I know it is hard to show everyone who you really are. But I want you to know that you can be your true self whenever I am around.