Chameleons

I find chameleons very interesting. Imagine blending into the background without no effort. No Invisibility Cloak needed! Amazing huh? The insect does it for prey and survival I guess(Well, insects don't really have to do anything else right?) We humans apply "chameleon" in a totally different context. "He is a chameleon." Heck, Cambridge has a definition: "A chameleon is also a person who changes his or her opinions or behavior to please others." This is the definition I am very interested about.

A few days ago, I went out with some colleagues for snacks/dinner. There were ladies and gentlemen, and this guy. Let us call him "thisGuy". I don’t really know thisGuy well, even though we share some common circles. I observed thisGuy's behavior that day, because I felt like thisGuy wasn’t the guy I knew. His behavior was totally opposite. I think this makes me a bit judgmental, but who cares?

Amongst these people thisGuy was overacting and dancing and what not. I felt he was being superficial. In the other circumstances we have met and interacted, I haven't seen such behavior from thisGuy. Not that I care much, but the difference was just too much to ignore. A proper chameleon, according to Cambridge.

There must be a lot of people like this out there, right? People who behave differently when they are with different sets of people. How do you determine which is the real avatar? Can such a person be ever trusted? I dunno. Is every human like that? Then I am in for a huge disappointment. I guess sometimes, it is necessary to keep different avatars, situations demand such things. But what I saw from thisGuy was totally different. Maybe I am different from others in these things. I cannot keep different faces come what may. Will this come to haunt me? Maybe. But I cannot picture myself like that. It disgusts me, I don’t know for what reason.

People beware :P There are a lot of chameleons out there. I am not saying everyone is, but how would you know? Chameleons blend in with their environments, and get their work done.