Masqueraded Identities

Epilogue- Life After Princeton

Ryan and I had stayed a couple until the end of our freshman year in college. We decided breaking up would be best.

He had moved all the way to Hawaii Pacific University, where he was receiving one of the best marine biology educations in the US. I, on the other hand, managed to land a full ride at Juilliard School of the Arts for acting in NYC. I decided to ditch my potential career as a marine biologist and follow my passion for my acting.

We had tried our best to stay together, but for right now, the distance was just too much.

We were still friends, though. We'd call every now and then and check up on each other. It was always uncomfortable, though, because we would always be so tempted to fall back into the love we still secretly shared.

I'm a junior in college now, and although I have no idea what will happen to me and Ryan Hutchins, all memories concerning that slightly broken, beautiful boy are nothing but good memories.

Maybe one day we'll end up back together, when we've both graduated college and can see each other.

Maybe we'll just end up being nothing but a sweet memory, the type of memory you share late at night to your children as a bedtime story.

One thing I've learned from Ryan is to always keep an open mind, because the unexpected happens much more frequently than the expected.

Tay and I are still the best of friends. We text or IM almost every day. Even if it's just a little update about the cute boy in one of our classes, or seeing when the next time we have enough money to go see each other. Thankfully, she still stayed in Massachusetts, and is going to Harvard currently. As you can see, Princeton graduates go far in life.

Except for Mark.

Last I heard, he is currently in rehab for his crack problem.

I'm actually kind of happy for him. That stuff is not fun to mess with from the sounds of it.

Princeton taught me a lot. And not just academically. But, life lessons.

Yeah, so I found a masked stranger and made out with him. Where's the lesson in that? Well, I'll tell you. The lesson was discovering who he was. Even without a mask, people tend to hide their true selves from others. Sometimes, like in Mark's case, it ends up horribly. And some, like Ryan's, it ends up wonderfully. We all wear masks to keep the dark parts of ourselves concealed. But our masks are flawed, and sometimes the secrets come pouring out through the cracks. Life is a struggle of finding out how to get rid of our masks, and learn how to deal with the parts of ourselves that aren't too fantastic. And, when we find others who are trying to get rid of their mask, who accept us and won't judge the face hidden beneath those masks, we realize that letting go of your masks is sometimes the best move.

Ryan learned that in an easy way. He found the one person who was ready to listen to him and help him take off his mask.

Mark learned that in a difficult way. He never found out how to take off his mask and let others' know if he needed help, and look where that got him.

Life is nothing but a mask trying to peel off.

We can either keep trying to stick it back on, and give ourselves instant gratification.

Or we can take it off and find true happiness that never fades.

The choice is ours, and ours alone.