Who Are You Really

(Discussion clipped from WikiUserNamesHaveFallenOutOfStyle)

When someone googles my name which me will they see? Clearly I want to control what version of me people see. To employers and creditors I want to present a version different than a lover would see. Or I may want to explore different arguments without presenting a confusing picture to someone without enough context for them to understand what is going on. It's very restrictive to try and be the same person to everyone.

Where,

Integral: essential or necessary for completeness; constituent. Identity: The set of behavioral or personal characteristics by which an individual is recognizable as a member of a group.

Therefore,

It's nice to have different names so I can explore different things without having to worry about supporting an integral identity.

It's not artificial, it is me, but that doesn't mean I want my employer to see sides of me that I definitely will not be showing at work. We should have control over our private information and that includes identity.

But,

What does that mean, "supporting an integral identity"? If you do things that are out of line with your preconception of yourself, what needs to be changed -- the things you do, or your preconceptions?

It's much simpler to just try to BeYourself all the time--that's what establishes integrity. I find it restrictive to not try to be the same person to everyone. It is true that one often acts differently in different contexts, but struggling to maintain separate artificial facades is just too much work, and will inevitably cause problems some day when your separate worlds collide. Just be who you are, and if someone notes inconsistent behavior, then "...foolish consistency...I contain multitudes...[etc.]"

Warning: philosophical rant ahead. I personally would prefer to hire a person that has some passion and confidence (which is what I would assume would be the lover "side" of you), or that I can tell has a healthy love life because, assuming LoveEqualsHappiness? or at least is a GoodThing, then the I would know that the person in question is going to be in good spirits and a positive contribution to the work environment. I personally look into my lovers' eyes with the same heartfelt compassion and connection as I would any other person that I have respect for. Of course the context is different, thus the topic of discussion and purpose of the interaction will be of a different nature. That still doesn't mean that the "person" that you "are" has to be any different. (author stops to catch his breath) --IsaacFreeman

Who are you, really?

Oh, yeah? Who's asking?