An Introduction of Two Personas
Update: I have a part two, in case anybody who has commented before would like a new introduction post to comment on.
Hello, my name is Arthur. Well, that is only half-true. Arthur is my pseudonym, but it is a pseudonym that I use quite often. I go by Arthur in most online mediums, and it is the name I give myself when I play video games (or choose-your-own-adventure games, when the option to pick a name is available). There is a certain separation of selves when I do this. Think of it like Jekyll and Hyde, but a book-accurate version. You see, Hyde is not a separate personality to Jekyll, just a different face that Jekyll uses to express a hidden aspect of himself. Arthur is confident and self-assured, "Richard" (to refer to my in-person self) is not. This puts me in a bit of a predicament: how to introduce myself while keeping the two as separate as I can. It is inevitable that Arthur and Richard will bleed into each other in this blog, I'm afraid, so I will continue as if there is no difference.
I am a senior, studying pre-med and biochemistry, with a minor in psychology. Covid-related obstacles aside, I plan to go into psychiatry. I write short, interconnected stories, but that is a hobby and I don't publish them. I love character analysis, as it combines my enjoyment of both writing characters and psychology. I play Dungeons & Dragons when I have time, using characters from my stories. It feels like traditional storytelling, becoming your characters like that. I like cooperative storytelling, where everyone in the group adds something to the overall narrative.
I live in a very rural area with my family when I'm not attending university. I have three dogs and two cats. The oldest dog is Stanley, a great pyrenees and lab mix. He likes to sit in chairs and is the smartest dog I have ever met. He is surprisingly no-nonsense for his young age (almost three). He is also just off-putting to look at for too long. He looks like a dog, but like an uncanny valley version of one. He likes belly rubs. The second oldest dog (less than a year old) is Mayhem, a german shepherd and lab mix. Mayhem lives up to his name. He is a high-energy pup who likes to collect sticks in piles right along the walking paths. Mayhem has never met a person or animal he didn't like. He knows how to sit, but he can't sit still for long enough to actually do it. The youngest does not have a name yet, and is a five-week old mastiff and pitbull mix. His mother stopped feeding them too early, so we have been having to introduce him to solid foods early as well. He is a cute new addition, the other animals have certainly taken a liking to him, though he howls every time he uses the bathroom. An odd quirk, but given the other weirdos he now lives with, it's nothing. He almost always has a messy face due to his eating strategy of faceplanting into the bowl.
(Image Information: personal photo of Stanley; photo from August 2019)
(Image Information: personal photo of Mayhem and his stick collection; photo from January 2021)
(Image Information: personal photo of the new puppy en route to his vet checkup; photo from January 2021)
Now, onto the cats. The oldest is Smokey, a sweet gray cat with white markings. Despite being the oldest, she is small and acts like a kitten (she is 2 years old). She is skittish, but very affectionate. In total contrast is Peppercorn, a year old black tabby tomcat who acts aloof and stand-offish. He was a feral cat when we got him, so it is understandable. I seem to be his favorite, and strangely enough he has bonded with Mayhem.
This post is getting a little long, and I have a capstone soon, so I will leave you with a fun fact about me. I have prosopagnosia. That means that the part of my brain that is supposed to recognize faces does not work. I cannot recognize friends, family, or even myself in the mirror. One time, I was going through a haunted house attraction with friends, and I mistook someone dressed as Jason Voorhees as one of my friends because I could not tell the difference between a hockey mask and a human face.
Until my next post,
-A.
Update:
The new puppy is now named Mr. Hyde, and he has not been enjoying staying cooped up inside during this cold weather. He is eight weeks old now and growing like a weed. He has a talent for tracking, and I have joked that we should have named him "Mr. Seek" because of that.
-A.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHowdy! I have to say I think using your online persona for this course is remarkable - it seems to fit the whole idea of storycrafting that we're engaging with this semester. Now I'm curious as to how you plan on incorporating what we're learning in M&F into your own storytelling and gameplay.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine, a fellow student at OU, has done some research into how game personas relate to self-narrative and by extension our identity as a whole - I couldn't help but think you two would get along. Also, I've never played D&D! But I've always wanted to.
Hi Arthur! Your animals are amazing - I think labs are the best dogs. I haven't had a dog in a few years, but every dog I've ever had is a lab/lab mix. They're great. Your cats are so sweet looking! Peppercorn's markings are beautiful. I could write about animals all day. Anyway, I think your area of study is fascinating. I have a coworker studying a similar area, and I love talking with her about it. I think it's really interesting.
ReplyDeleteHello Arthur and Richard!
ReplyDeleteI was so interested in your introduction starting with the first couple of sentences I knew I had to leave a comment. I love how you are so open to explaining your thoughts and feelings with others. I think that takes a lot to do confidently and you have done exactly that. Your personality really shined through this post all the way to the end. I loved that you seem to driven by your major (I could never do it) and talked about the short stories you write. I hope someday the world will get to read them :)
Your pets are beautiful!! I personally don't have any but all of yours seem so friendly and cute. I think Stanley is my favorite because of his/her name. I hope I get to read some of your work in this class because I think it will be amazing!
Hi Arthur! Thanks for your comment on my blog! It's really cool that you like Dungeons and Dragons. I have been trying to play, but I unfortunately have not found the right group that fits me just yet. I have dice and everything, but no one to play with yet. Your post really shows you love animals and that's awesome! My family back home helps run one of the only shelters in the rural area we are from in Tennessee, so I get being able to point out all the quirks and enjoy their different personalities. Psychiatry is also a really interesting major. I am a social work major, but their is a lot about brain development we have to learn. I hope you enjoy your spring semester at OU!
ReplyDeleteHi Arthur! First off I want to say that all of your animals are adorable! I currently do not have a pet but seeing your animals definitely makes me want to get one soon! I think that using a pseudonym is honestly fun because you can be whomever you want and I tend to use one when I play certain video games.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy your senior year!!
Hi Arthur!
ReplyDeleteYour writing style is excellent! It is so conversational and well-written. I am so glad you included all the pictures of your pets! They are just perfect, Mayhem sounds like my kind of dog! I also thought your description of Stanley was really funny, he looks like he was definitely human in his past life! I also loved your intro, I think it is really cool that you have those two separate personas!
I enjoyed getting to know a bit about you and look forward to reading more of your blogs throughout the semester!
Brooklin
Hello, Arthur and Richard. When I got Xbox Live I pretended I was sixteen even though I was ten, so I know what it's like to live in two worlds. I've heard of a condition where people can't visualize anything in their brains, but I've never encountered someone who can't recognize faces. That's crazy. It's definitely something interesting. Does that make it confusing for you to watch movies and shows, or do you memorize other details? Good luck with psychiatry!
ReplyDeleteHi Drew,
DeleteYes, my prosopagnosia does make it difficult to recognize characters in TV shows, especially if they're dressed the same or have similar hairstyles. For example, the Starks from Game of Thrones were all very hard to distinguish. I try to use people's voices, hair, clothing, and body types to recognize them, but it is still difficult since most of those change over time. My friend has to tell me what outfit she's wearing on campus when we would meet up so that I could find her (especially when she got contact lenses and a haircut). The one bright side is that face masks do not impact my ability to recognize people.
Hello! Your introduction was very interesting. I see you got your name from a medium online. I am a psychology major and premed. I have considered psychiatry as well. I am from a rural area back home as well. I think you would be someone interesting to know. It is nice to meet you.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to meet someone else who enjoys the play of identity online, Rachael! For me, it's not so much about changing my name, but about always using my fox avatar (some kind of fox: either an actual fox, or Fox-in-Socks... any fox!) instead of my actual photo. When I give a talk at a conference or something, people find it weird to see "me" because they've been interacting with me online for years just as a fox. I keep thinking I should get a fox suit (like in What Does the Fox Say, ha ha) so that I can carry on with my avatar in real life. I chose the fox in honor of trickster foxes in Aesop's fables, and I'm starting to think I might switch to using a rabbit avatar since my current trickster obsession is trickster rabbits. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd your dogs and cats are such cuties: how much to have a new puppy!
About prosopagnosia: I hear you! I am so nearsighted that I cannot recognize people's faces unless we really are face to face, as in: inches away from each other. When I was still on campus (I don't live in Norman now, but I used to), I was always waving happily at total strangers across the Oval, or else failing to wave at friends I couldn't even recognize. Online, I do better, ha ha. Yet another reason to be flexible and fluid about identities: who we are and how we are seen is all very (VERY) subjective! :-)
Arthur! Great intro and your animals are my favorite thus far:) Lab/Pyrenees mix!? Is that plastic chair safe?!? lol. I love big dogs, especially labs. I used to have a fox colored lab named Tyler and we fed him rather generously until the vet said 130lb might be a bit much... but he did field trials for several years and lived to be 17! I like to see dogs and cats get along so that's awesome to hear about Peppercorn and Mayhem :)
ReplyDeleteI think we'd get along on the game front. I never played D&D but I used to play a ton of Skyrim!
Have a great semester!
Hello! I love all of your cute pets! It sounds like they are all quirky in their own way, which is adorable, so thank you for giving us that level of detail! I could totally imagine some really great stories starring your pets that could come from your animals’ big personalities! I also totally understand your feelings of split personality. I’ve been realizing recently just how divergent my writing personality and my in-person personality are. I’m so much braver when I can write something than when I can speak it, which means people don’t always see me the way I see myself. How interesting that you have prosopagnosia—I’ve never heard of that before, and it sounds difficult. Would it affect your ability to recognize your pets if there were similar ones (like the same breed of dog, or same coat pattern) nearby?
ReplyDeleteHi Kenzie,
DeleteHonestly, animals (especially domestic ones) are easier to recognize because their coat patterns tend to be distinct, but I would have trouble if I had two dogs of the same breed and coat pattern. I suppose that is one of the reasons I prefer mixes haha. I even wear green glasses frames because the color is uncommon and that way it is easier to recognize my own reflection.
Hello Arthur!
ReplyDeleteI also have an online pseudonym that I use in almost everything, DKNK or Pablo Escobar. I have always wanted to play dungeons and dragons, I even bought the starter set so I could play with my family though we never do. Your dogs are pretty cute, the little one especially. I have two dogs, both rescues. Rosco is a terrier dachshund mix and ollie is a purebred dachshund and I love them both to death!
I have never had any luck with cats, but I do like to pet them when I go over to other peoples houses.
Hello, nice to meet you! I have a minor in psychology too, and we actually just learned about prosopagnosia in one of my lectures. It's so cool that you write stories just for fun and because you're interested in characters. What inspires you to write these stories? I bet that hobby has given you a lot of practice for this class! Thanks for sharing about all of your pets—they are so cute! I never had a pet growing up, but my roommate in college has a cat and I'm never going back.
ReplyDeleteHello Arthur and Richard!
ReplyDeleteI have played D and D a couple of times with my brothers and their friends. My twin brother is almost always the DM, and he puts an insane amount of backstory into his games. I liked playing better before he knew all the rules, and he mostly let me do what I want. Now, however, he insists that I follow the rulebook, which I think is not as fun!
Hello Arthur! I love that you use a consistent pseudonym across platforms and I image you will use it if you ever decide to publish your short stories. By the way, that is a very cool hobby to have. This class is the first time in a while for me to play around with creative writing so I'm always fascinated by people who regularly write stories in their free time. I've never actually met anyone with prosopagnosia so that was an interesting detail to learn about you! It sort of perfectly adds to the concept of different identities you talked about in your intro with using an online persona and playing as different characters in D&D. I also loved seeing pics of your animals!
ReplyDeleteHi Arthur, I enjoyed reading your introduction! I have to give you props for studying pre-med and biochemistry because I have heard from a lot of people that it is really difficult. I’ve never owned a pet, but I would like to in the future, so I think it’s pretty cool that you have five of them. I hope you have a great rest of your semester!
ReplyDeleteHi Arthur! I also use a pseudonym when gaming and such online. I have two, actually. One is for when I want to play a male character and one is for when I want to play a female one. Whenever I saw the HeroForge characters on one of your stories I thought to myself, "I bet they play d&d." Looks like I was right! Your dogs are beautiful, by the way, I love them so much!
ReplyDeleteArthur,
ReplyDeleteI think that it is cool that you use two different names. It allows you the freedom to be whoever you want when you are under another name! All of your animals are very cute by the way! I have three dogs and two cats as well! I also have never heard of prosopagnoisa before. However, you seem like you don't let that stop you from anything, so that's awesome! I hope your semester is going great!