by Vikas Reddy

Created on: November 16, 2008   Last Updated: August 13, 2011

It's funny the things we end up doing to protect something called our 'reputation.' Reputation you say? Let's see what the dictionary says:

The estimation in which a person or thing is held, esp. by the community or the public generally; repute

Okay, none of you need a definition to know what reputation means. We all know reputation makes who you are, or at least that's that we're taught.

There's a tricky line between reputation and the essence of who you are. Because the two can be entirely different things. Reputation is how the community sees you and It is your image in the light of society's eyes. And the essence of who you are is more simply: who you are in reality.

Any objections when I say the two can be different things?

People do some risky things to protect their reputation because in the end, that's all they've got. When we walk down the street, our reputation is perception to outsiders. To those who don't know us, what else do we have but our name? Reputation is what you wear, who you are friends with, your race, what God you worship, and the size of your wallet. It influences how the world reacts to you before you take a single action. The world doesn't care who you are inside. It only cares about what you look like you can do.

There's just one loophole: Reputation can be created, imagined, faked, fabricated, framed, and defended.

The essence of who you are is not an illusion. It cannot be faked, and only you, your closest family members, and friends know the truth. Why don't people simply accept that as their reputation?

To look better with the conformists of society, men and women go against their own core beliefs to fit the 'accepted' image that's been spoon-fed to them from the day they've been born. That includes the way they dress, the music they pretend to like, the people they marry, the races they associate with, and even the people they shun or kill. To what lengths do we go to keep our reputation perfect? We all realize it's an illusion but we make it so real we forget it isn't who we are.

We've run from our own judgment to the abstract judgments of a 'higher' power. We've married people against our will, have not divorced because it would 'look bad', withdrawn from society because of being a rape victim, committed suicide, and other miscellaneous tragedies. And those who matter most to us end up being permanently scarred by the consequences. So many times we've held ourselves back in order to look better to people we don't even know

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