A girl of many hats

To get inspired for this post I put on every hat in my closet. Every one. I'm wearing them all right now. My family was a little startled.

I'm wearing ear muffs (I'm saying those count).

Two beanies.

A fluffy beanie thing?

Four baseball hats. One is a Christmas present. One is from Yellowstone. One is from Venice. One I inherited from my grandpa.

A Santa Clause hat.

And two bomber hats. (Like, cliche Canadian hats.)

I feel pretty fabulous and I look like a psycho. And my head is a little warm.

These hats tell me places I've been. Things I enjoy. People I care about. Little pieces of me.

Everyone is made of pieces. We're like big, deep, impossible puzzles that make something beautiful. But few people get to see the whole picture, if anyone. In different situations different pieces come up to the front. My writing piece is in the center right now.

Calling someone two faced is a lie. All of us have a thousand faces. Thousands of us-s ready to be pulled out for thousands of situations in the amount of time it takes for the conversation to switch topics, or to say goodbye to one person and hello to another. In a step. In a breath. In a heartbeat. We are transformed.

There is nothing wrong with this. I've spend hours struggling over 'who I really am' because I'm a different person in class than I am when the bell rings to go to lunch. But it took me a long, long time to understand that that is okay. I still down really understand it. I might never fully understand this fundamental part of human nature.

People are just too complex. If every part of us came up to the surface at all times, we'd be to freaked out by everyone to talk to anyone. So pieces get pushed back from time to time, and parts get moved forward now and then, and it keeps us balanced.

So don't freak out if you don't feel comfortable talking deeply about your Harry Potter obsession with someone you've known for years. Don't be nervous if suddenly you find yourself in deep conversation with someone about philosophy, then laugh uncontrollably about something stupid you did with someone else an hour later.

We've all got sides to us. Different hats in our closet waiting to be pulled out.

We are all just werewolves waiting for the moon to go down. Bruce Banner's waiting to take a chill pill.

Cloud watchers that, after sunset, become stargazers.