A mask of Perfection

Alexandra “Alex” Thompson was the picture of perfection to say the least. A beautiful woman walking her dog one morning was also a successful senior executive with a leading consulting company, an immensely intelligent, and witty woman. Her subordinates looked up to her, her neighbors wished for what she had, and her parents were always proud of her. She was elegant in dress, always had her hair done and she was always smiling as if she possessed a source of endless light.

It might also be for this reason that Alex who seemed to be leading a perfect life behind the exterior façade was perishing. She always woke up in the morning with a feeling of loathsome and her thoughts were occupied with the list of things to be done. She was severely tired mentally and physically, but she couldn’t afford or rather, she did not have time to rest. She had to be strong for the family to survive a raw and tough life befalls all of them and they must endure it. She made herself up and dressed officially in the correct corporate outfit to the face the world with a delightful smile.

Due to the high expectations present in his organization, Alex had meetings back to back, several emails and tight schedules to meet at the short notice. She always in a plane, or in a hotel, she rarely resides in one location for more than one week, she had never had the time to unpack her bags. Despite making a high income in the region of six figures she was finding that she was sacrificing her mental as well as physical well being.

Nonetheless, Alex felt rather empty inside her, although she achieved a great deal as a woman and a mother. She was never allowed to have any hobbies, she did not even have time for friends or even for herself. She is an empty shell, and a mere shadow of herself from the beautiful strong woman she used to be. At that moment she was starting to feel as if she was living some other woman’s life and not hers.

Some day, this young man called Alex had everything that one could imagine suddenly and completely lost it all. It happened that she did not receive a promotion she was expecting for a long time, to be a manager in the company. This left her immobile, dazed as she felt as if she had let herself down, and everyone around her down too. She dragged herself through the day with an attempt to act as she used to but all was too much. She could burst into tears before her colleagues something she had never imagined she would do.

The mask of perfection started to chip off and peer into Alex’s eyes, she surely felt like a fish out of water. She grew tired of having to deceive the world from being a person she wanted to be but wasn’t. She was frail, powerless and embarrassed.

So then, something that was never imagined occurred. Her colleagues also come to support her and says something nice to her. They also provided their own issues, and even their own mistakes, and their own ability to present themselves as merely human. Of course, Alex came to the idea that everyone was in the same boat and was suffering even if they did not reveal it.

Alex liked accepting the support; gradually, she began healing. She went for therapy and joined a yoga class as a way of ensuring that she Treasured herself. She learnt to accept herself and her flaws, to seek assistance when she needed it and learnt to allocate time for herself.

Alex’s perfectly constructed mask crumbled and that, she found, was rather liberating. She no longer operates under the pressure that she has to be flawless in every way and she is no longer choked by the obligations of being a strong woman. She was able to express herself as she wanted to, with frigidity or prejudice, and flaws.

It was only when Alex was making a cup of tea that she understood that she did not need to be okay all the time and that it was perfectely okay not to be. She learned to accept herself, her weaknesses, to love herself and to be herself – to get a better life. She found out that getting back on your feet does not require one to be powerful, all offensive and have no weaknesses, but rather one should be weak and be able to seek power.

The story of Alex Thompson can therefore be understood as an implication of the current society that in exceptional circumstances disseminating negative emotions is acceptable. That is it is okay to break down at some point, to feeling helpless, to cry. That it is alright to need assistance, to look for it, and to serve our own needs occasionally. Yes, that it is ok to be the way we are sometimes, that it is ok to not be perfect.

Finally, the mask that Alex wore, which other wore, was taken off and in its place a mask of truth was worn. And it was this mask that made her truly beautiful.