Wow. What a thought-provoking post, Matthew.

Wondering how we appear to other people is *scary*. Especially when you think about the wildly different perceptions which different people seem to have of us. I've been told by various people, all of whom were in a position to know, that I am 1) a very warm caring person, 2) pathologically incapable of caring about anybody but myself, 3) somebody with a great sense of humour, 4) somebody with a pathetic sense of humour who should just stop even trying, 5) antisocial, 6) social, 7) introverted, 8) extroverted, and so on. I've just about given up trying to decide whether I'm basically somebody I would like if I met them. Physically, I have occasional bursts of thinking "Woo hoo, I look GREAT!" but I soon get back to reality once I realise that few other people seem to think so. I guess "has potential" is about my limit where looks are concerned.

I think one of the ways you can define friends are that they're the people who make you feel more like the person you always wanted to be, and less like the person you probably actually are.

Brunnen-"and best of all, they help turn you into that person"G