ABOUT ME
There is a Stranger in Each of Us
Acknowledging the alter-ego, the stranger within.
I am a bit of a stranger, you know, the kind of person you don’t usually invite to just about any kind of event. Well, at least in this version of who I am. In case you are wondering [okay, so you aren’t wondering at all, but what the hell], this isn’t my “public” persona.
In the real “public” world, I am a shy person. In most ways, I would be perceived as a “boring” person because I am quiet and feel most comfortable sitting on the sidelines, nodding and smiling as others compete for the centre stage in whatever gathering I attend.
In the real world, I have many roles, many personae to live up to depending on the situation I find myself. Yet, the me I sense hidden behind these personae is more authentic despite being hidden. Most of us don’t want to risk the authentic version of ourselves to be outed, to emerge from the closet where we are safely hidden.
Yet, like everyone else, this “public” version of me is not the “real” me. If you ask me, I can’t really tell you with any definitive response who the real me is. At the age of 73, I am still doing the research to uncover that mystery.
Yet, I have to be “somebody” when all is said and done. For starters, you can call me René Beauchemin. René is a French name that means reborn, or born again. Since I have French heritage, it stands that I have a French name. My alter ego has a different name, though it is a French name as well. But enough of him.
I chose René because with this persona, I literally feel reborn. It is comparable to the old persona being shed, like a snake sheds its skin, with a more authentic version of “me” rising out of the ashes of my past, like the mythological phoenix.
Beauchemin is also a French word. It means the beautiful road or the “beautiful way.” Since I have reinvented myself, it only makes sense that the way forward with this rebirth as a human takes place on a path that has fewer potholes. You know what I mean as all of us lead lives with too many potholes disturbing our journey through life.
In my other persona, my history is littered with trauma. I hid for safety reasons, though I didn’t hide well enough when I was young. The less people who knew me, the better. Now, in this persona, I find hiding difficult. It’s as though I want to soar and be acknowledged.
No, that doesn’t mean I want to be famous. Think of the difference between “thou” and “it.” There is a book written by Martin Buber called I and Thou, which explains the difference better than I could ever attempt. I want to be “seen” as a “thou,” a soul rather than just a shadow of a person on the sidelines of life. This was the impulse that allowed me to dare being reborn as a man.
And, as a footnote, I should add that this version of me doesn’t care to wear clothing when time, weather, and circumstance allow. If you have been reading my stories here, you might have already figured that out on your own. But fear not. I will be gentle with you. Judicious cropping will ensure that you are not “too” offended by someone who isn’t afraid of being a human, fully human.
I would like to offer a challenge here to the people who read my posts, and for others who might learn of the challenge through posts written in response to the challenge. Create a new “About Me” story giving a voice to the hidden, inner self. Maybe you will surprise yourself about what emerges. Most definitely, you will surprise those who will read the post who think they already know you.
I open the challenge by naming a few in order to begin this “reborn me” thread. Adrienne Beaumont, Jason Provencio, John Douglas Porter, Owen W., Lucy Weir, Robert, Dan Carlson | Meandering Naturist, Christofer Döss Naturist, Spyder Darling, Trevor D'Silva -Stories Inspired by Life & History, The Sturg, Ann Christine Tabaka, Robin Wilding 💎, GB Rogut, GB Dare, Ravyne Hawke, Marilyn Flower, Keeley Schroder, Martin Morrison, Marta Henriques, and Leonard Tillerman.