Me : The Chameleon

A silly question just popped up in my head..... and what made me think further on the topic, were the most common answers given to that question by the people. The question was : If you described yourself similar to a creature, what would you describe yourself as? The most common answers : Lion, Tiger, Hawk....all of them symbols of elegance and excellence. Just as I was thinking about this question, walking on the ring road behind the football field, a creature popped out of nowhere in front of me. And no, it was not one of those i mentioned above, they are simply extinct in our campus, those symbols of elegance. I say nowhere because i hadn't spotted it earlier even though it was just a foot away from me. You might have guessed what it was by now, the title being more suggestive towards it more than anything else.... It was a Chameleon, as gray as the road i was walking on!
Then i wondered why people don't like being compared to this gifted creature. A popular saying in Hindi goes like this : " गिरगिट की तरह रंग बदलने वाला ", which refers to a person who changes his behavior like the chameleon changes its colors. This saying, i find very unfair to the chameleon. I say so because a chameleon changes its colors in accordance with its surroundings on instinct, the same instinct which helps him survive in this world dominated by animals either big in size or big on brains (like us). It does not do so to harm others as the saying suggests, but in pure self defense. 


I, for one, consider myself a chameleon because my behavior depends on the kind of people I'm surrounded with, the way i talk, the things i discuss with them..... everything! And i can assure you, this condition of mine is purely instinctive and spontaneous. When I'm with a girl, i don't pretend to talk or think like her.I discuss the topics which she wants to discuss spontaneously and without any pretense (although i admit, it sometimes DOES get boring when they turn off the chameleon in them and go on discussing about clothes and footwear :) ) . Similarly, when I'm with my pals, we discuss what we like... women, sports, cars etc. The only difference in the two cases is that i know as a guy what guys like to discuss, so i can initiate the discussion, whereas in case of girls, i let them take the lead and discuss things. 

So, you see, the gist of the matter is that being a chameleon isn't a negative aspect of your personality  as long as it is truly instinctive, the problems  begin when you become the chameleon of that infamous saying. I've discovered that harmless chameleon inside me.... have you?