In Hiding? Or In Plain Sight?

       SPOILER ALERT! You may not want to read this if you haven't read "Palace of Mirrors" by Margaret Peterson Haddix.
   Imagine that, for your whole life, you had to hide who you  thought you really were. Imagine that you felt that you had to pretend to be someone else. Imagine that one day, you found out you weren't hiding  your true self, it was in plain sight.
          To everyone in the tiny village she lives in, Cecilia from  "Palace of Mirrors" by Margaret Peterson Haddix is a regular peasant girl. But she knows that she is a princess in hiding. She had to flee the castle to escape danger when she was a baby and now lives a normal peasant lifestyle in the daytime but learns lessons about ruling a country by night. However, when Cecilia runs away to the castle to reclaim her throne, a girl named Desmia who Cecilia had been taught was the "decoy" princess believes that she (Desmia) is the true heiress to the throne. Not to mention that there are many other girls who believe that they are the true princess. Cecilia is devastated to learn that she really is a peasant after all, that all her "lessons" have been lies.
           This story touches upon two things: hiding who you are, and discovering that you are not the person you thought you were. Cecilia both hides and discovers, which is interesting. I think that if you've been hiding for a long time, the person you pretend to be really becomes part of you. I think that Cecilia was already pretty much like a peasant girl even before she learned she was one, because she had pretended to be a peasant for so long.
            I think Cecilia hiding her true identity, even though it didn't turn out to be true, was a metaphor for the kind of hiding people do today. For example, a lot of gay people pretend to be straight, and hiding who they really are becomes a part of life for them. Cecilia hides who she is because she's afraid of being murdered, and gay people hide who they are because they're afraid of being ridiculed and hurt. I think it's sad that our world makes it difficult for people to show who they are, everyone should be able to embrace themselves. However, even if it's hard, I would suggest that unless it would completely tear your life apart, you should let your whole self show.
          Another thing that happens to Cecilia is that she realizes that her true self is not what she thought it was. In Cecilia's case, she learns that she is not really a princess, but many teenagers realize  more simple, but yet still important things about themselves that make them rethink their lives. For example, a person who thought they loved ballet and would want to do ballet for the rest of their lives may realize that their true love is tennis. Or someone who thought that they were straight might turn out to be gay, or vice versa. A teenager might go goth and then realize that being goth is not a part of their true self or who they want to be. I've had moments where I've thought about things I've done and thought "Wait, that's not me." We just need to realize that people change, and it's okay to realize that you don't want to be the person you currently are.
               In conclusion, although "Palace of Mirrors" is set in a fantasy setting, it deals with some real issues that real teens face.