A philosopher I've been reading lately says that you are your own best friend and your own wife. Especially when you feel yourself growing old. Having lived my entire life this way, I don't find it to be a particularly groundbreaking philosophy. I simply nod in agreement.

However, navigating this world means coexisting with others, not living in isolation, which is why we end up placing so much weight on how others perceive us. Because we are not all born into identical circumstances, the very concept of 'equality' is nonsensical. Those who loudly demand absolute equality are simply naive.

When you meet someone who shares your mindset, the conversation flows effortlessly. It is only natural. But when faced with someone holding opposing views, you must put on a mask. You have to become a 'you' that isn't really you. If you don't wear that mask, it inevitably leads to conflict. And why bother fighting? It can all be resolved by simply wearing a mask for a brief moment...

Youth, however, finds it difficult to wear such a mask. Because they fear nothing... The scam called 'youth' is something everyone falls for when they are young. You don't even realize you are being deceived. It is the thickest mask in the world. And it takes an entire lifetime to finally peel it off.

Like an onion, you peel back layer after layer only to find the exact same mask underneath, and by the time you've peeled them all away, it is time to die. In the end, a life lived behind a mask is simply what life is.

Today, I looked at a photograph of my father for the first time in a long while. My memory of him as a father figure is rather blurry. I can only recall one or two instances where I looked at him while being truly conscious of my own existence. I was told he adored me when I was a child. Because I swam like a seal, he gave me the Japanese nickname Ottosei. Closely examining his handsome face, it struck me as remarkably feminine. I sensed a certain fragility and tenderness in him. There must be DNA that was passed down to me from that man. There undeniably is.

We exist within the inescapable cycle of birth, aging, illness, and death—subject to the forces of nature that mutate our inherited DNA, and shaped by our own human uniqueness.

This piece of writing is an assignment on 'Persona'. Persona. When written out in Korean, it is quite a beautiful word. The word itself is a mask.