Like any young child, I had a lot of odd habits. I liked to play with things I called "get-its." Get-its are more or less pieces of lint that I liked to roll around in my finger tips. The feeling of lint in my fingers would lull me to sleep. I also frequently made up stories. Whenever my brother or sister would talk about things that happened before I was born I would make up stories about how I did all of those things in my mother's stomach. However, my mask phase was probably my oddest habit. Here's a picture to set the stage.
(My eyes weren't quite so blue.)
For about six months straight I would wear my mask at all times of the day. Whether (or weather) hot or cold, the mask would be on. Whether asleep or awake, the mask had to be worn. If I were having trouble eating food through the hole I would simply lift the mask up above my lips, then shovel the food in my mouth and put the mask right back down. I could not be seen without my mask. Why, I do not know. Perhaps I thought myself too beautiful for the world to see. Perhaps I wanted to keep my skin soft and supple (which may indeed be why my cheeks or so soft and chubby.) Or perhaps my face was just always cold. Whatever the reason, that mask never left my face and has helped make me the man I am today. I saw the world in a way most people do not, through an actual mask. While other people were wearing masks of kindness and caring, I was actually wearing a real, physical mask. I'd rather wear an actual mask and be myself any day of the week then wear a mask and pretend I'm something I'm not.
The moral of the story is that Todd was a strange child and that we all wear masks, whether physical or emotional. However, to be ones self is the best road to travel. Do not hide who you really are behind any kind of mask.
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