A question of character.
Mar. 14th, 2022 05:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blimixI had occasion to babysit a seven-year-old recently. We reached the "questions" portion of the evening.
Me: What's your first question?
7yo: Who are you pretending to be?
Me: Whoa! That's an intense question!
7yo: Why?
Me: Well, it presumes that I'm pretending to be someone other than myself. That's a powerful claim.
7yo: You can pretend to be yourself.
Me: Yeah, but that's a cop-out. (Back of my head: Actually, it's a valid observation. "We are what we pretend to be.") I'd rather address the question in its own spirit. So, I'd say... I'm pretending to be someone who is always calm, cool, and collected, even when I'm feeling excited, or upset.
7yo: No, no, what *character* are you pretending to be? Like, from a book or movie.
Me: ... Oh.
Me: What's your first question?
7yo: Who are you pretending to be?
Me: Whoa! That's an intense question!
7yo: Why?
Me: Well, it presumes that I'm pretending to be someone other than myself. That's a powerful claim.
7yo: You can pretend to be yourself.
Me: Yeah, but that's a cop-out. (Back of my head: Actually, it's a valid observation. "We are what we pretend to be.") I'd rather address the question in its own spirit. So, I'd say... I'm pretending to be someone who is always calm, cool, and collected, even when I'm feeling excited, or upset.
7yo: No, no, what *character* are you pretending to be? Like, from a book or movie.
Me: ... Oh.
