Alter egos: A comprehensive guide (Pt. 1)
How creating a caricature of your personality can help you nurture and accept your whole self.
Hello.
This letter’s on the lighter side. I hope it makes you laugh and piques your curiosity. Enjoy!
A few years back, my friend jokingly mentioned her alter-ego “Linda” who drives an SUV, loves retail therapy and wants to start a cooking blog. We laughed about how there are these basic parts of our personality we have a love/hate relationship with and secretly just want to give into on most days.
For years, I’ve known about “Street Mariah,” an alter-ego I developed when I was living in Chicago. This no-nonsense, bad b*tch can deadlock a stranger in the eyeballs and mean business. She carries mace on her keychain, walks with the confidence of knowing where she’s going (even when she doesn’t), and likes to make out with strangers (more about her later).
Our conversation made me curious if I had other alter-egos. Turns out, I have A LOT of them (we’re not talking about multiple personalities here, just multiple sides of the same personality, I promise). I re-discovered these caricatures in my sketchbook today and thought I’d share them with you (stay tuned for profiles on Woo Woo Wendy, Basic Bitch Betty, and Minimalist Madeline)!
These are so silly and I had so much fun making them, I hope it inspires you to consider some of your own personality characteristics, too. What I’ve realized in glancing back through them, is that I definitely give certain aspects of me more air time (I’m looking at you, Domestic Diane), while neglecting others (sorry, Playful Peony).
Each caricature has needs, strengths, and weaknesses. In a way, they’re sort of like archetypes.
When we overfeed or malnourish parts of ourselves, it can lead to an imbalance and a tendency to judge or banish what makes us whole.
These are meant to be playful tropes with a lot of tongue-and-cheekiness but there’s truth in each of them for me. When I’m feeling “off” or not myself, I can revisit them and see the parts of myself that need attention, affection, or acceptance.
I wanted to draw a little sketch or make a collage for each of these characters but I actually had a lot of fun looking for photographic evidence that I do, in fact, embody these different personality traits. Next week, in part two, I’ll share additional caricatures, a reflection on their relationship to each other, and some helpful resources for diving deeper into archetypes and alter egos.
Woo Woo Wendy
Outfit: Orange house-dress that’s culturally appropriated. Lots of turquoise.
Speaks metaphor as her first language.
Really into: Tarot, astrology, law of attraction.
Smells like: Incense and coconut oil.
Favorite pastimes: Journaling, trauma bonding, smudging, listening to spiritual “intuitives,” yoga, future-tripping.
Music: Chakra balancing, Tibetan singing bowls.
Meal: Indian
Attributes: Floaty, kind, understanding, sees the big picture, connected to love, a little ungrounded.
Strength: Connection to Spirit/trust.
Weakness: Lack of focus/presence.
Basic Bitch Betty
Favorite activities: Watching trashy reality tv and eating pizza, taking a bath, patio drinking.
Guilty pleasure: Swiping on Tinder, celebrity Youtube videos.
Music: Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift
Really loves: Being a dog mom, being single, hanging out with other women and complaining about boys, break-ups.
Biggest downfall: Convenience
Greatest asset: Comfort
Wants: To live and let live! To stop trying so hard all the time, take more naps, be a little snarky sometimes, and buy ALL THE THINGS.
Minimalist Madeline
Outfit: Jean shorts, swimsuit top, river shoes, newly diagnosed poison ivy.
Craves: Playing in creeks, summer evenings outside, being on the water on a hot day, drinking cheap beer with friends in a lawn chair.
Music: Anything with a harmonica or banjo.
Food: Whatever you can cook on a campfire.
Smells like: Dried sweat, wet clothes, bacon grease.
Strengths: Minimalist, connection with nature, strong survival skills, adventure, okay with doing nothing, simplicity.
Downfall: Can be a little hard-knock sometimes, turns her nose up at pleasure.
I can’t wait to show you more embarrassing photos next week! All jokes aside, I really believe that learning about ourselves and leaning into ALL of our different sides can be the miracle grow we need to nourish our creativity and accept our whole self. I hope this can be a playful activity for you to see just how wonderful you are.
This week’s invitation:
Can you relate? Which caricatures made you laugh out loud or groan?
Do you have sides of your personality you give more air time than others?
Draw, sketch, collage, or write your own caricatures! Make a fake dating profile and get really creative! Imagine their outfits, favorite food, friends, hopes, pet peeves, etc. Share what you come up with in the comments!
P.S. I just re-started The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron and would love some accountability/community. You can check out this chat thread for an informal discussion/weekly inspiration!
P.P.S. One of my goals is to start sharing more of my “bad” and in progress art with you. I’m extending the invitation to you once a month! Fill out this form to share your poetry, photographs, dance moves, childhood scribbling, whatever you want! I’ll send it out in a newsletter so we can connect and cheer each other on.
So fun! I love how you’re being playful with the different parts of yourself to honor the complexity and nuance that makes you who you are!
I taught my astrology + parenting class series today and could see how each of these could align with the zodiac (Woo Woo Wendy = Pisces)... the way I teach helps us realize we have all the energies of the zodiac (12 states of awareness) within us and we have to be aware and tend them all to stay in balance... now I kind of want to challenge my students to take a self photo each month to capture them in their Taurus mode (Aries mode for me is horseback riding! Lol)
Love this! I use a similar practice when I need to do something difficult or new, trying to channel different archetypes. A lot of them are based off my friends, and how I think they would respond to certain situations. It really helps to find things I admire in them and then try to take on those aspects myself.