adaptability

some days i feel like a chameleon.

chameleons are associated with adaptability, due to their ability to change their pigment on cue (which is actually a misconception ... while they can change colour, it's actually triggered by light, temperature and emotion.)

i was a painfully shy kid. in a way, i assumed the form of a chameleon to cope with the constantly changing world, thanks to a nomadic lifestyle, migrating from one school to the next. the irony is that even though i was quiet, i still couldn't truly "blend in" due to my ethnicity since i was usually the only asian (or one of the few) in a small class of mostly ukrainian catholic kids.

yet i yearned to be noticed. not for being a minority, but for talent or some outstanding achievement. perhaps this search for the spotlight propelled the journey to becoming a journalist. becoming published fulfilled recognition ... even though it was on a smaller scale.

soon, the realization hit me that with being known, privacy, to some degree, must be sacrificed. now, i'm heading into a profession that promises some annonymity ... as a librarian or researcher.

tongue-twister thought-du-jour:
"perspective and paradigm predisposes people's patterns, prose and pace"