I choose the thing that will define me to everyone with whom I come in contact on the internet.
Or the only thing that defines who I want people to think I am. That's the beautiful -- and terrible -- thing about the internet.
I'm not saying anyone should lie about who they are.
But the internet gives me a great and terrible power. I can be shrewdly honest with people I have never met, more so than I can with my ex-boyfriend, or my parents, or my sister, or my real-life friends. I don't have to hold anything back.
Or I can hold everything back. Or only certain parts.
On one website, I can play up the fact that I have three Coach bags plus two scarves, a wristlet, a keychain, and a cell phone cover; a Juicy clutch, a tracksuit, a necklace, a watch, and a bag; a Chanel bag and earrings; and that I buy most of my makeup at Sephora, and I wear exclusively high heels and skirts to work.
On another, I can let everyone know that I have almost 3,000 gamerpoints, I used to be in a female gaming clan, I was a semi-finalist for the 2009 Frag Dolls casting call, about half my t-shirts are video game related, I juggled being a full-time student and playing WoW, and at conventions I'm usually asked to be a model for the OGO Girls of Gaming calendar.
Or I could discuss headphones and Chucks and skinny jeans; and lament how I missed Warped Tour '09, but I made up for it by buying a pair of Vans and supporting local music; and boast that I just bought a secondhand keyboard in great condition so that I could start learning to play Mae songs.
I could "casually" mention that since I'm part Asian, my skin is very slightly golden-tinted but pale; my eyes tend to get squinty when I smile; my cheekbones are high and prominent; I'm naturally slender; people ask me why my face is flat.
Or I could give you the full disclosure.
I didn't fabricate any of the above statements. I just picked and chose the parts that make me seem interesting. I tailored my personality, my interests, myself, to what I thought the internet would want to hear.
It's because I desperately want to find myself interesting.
My consolation? I'm not the only one that does it.