As you can see, I've taken my time with this exercise. The next step for those who choose to take it is to share who you are and who you pretend to be with someone who is safe. You can refer to your answers to the questions, but the idea is to use that as more of a guide and just tell them in your own words. When I looked back at my answers, this is what I came up with:

It's important to me to be good at something and able to help people and to be of value. I never mean to hurt anyone, but sometimes I make mistakes, and I hate myself when I do. I'm desperate for approval and terrified of disapproval.

I pretend to be strong and competent, or I try to be invisible and not noticed at all, in order to keep people from seeing how fragile I am and how easily they could hurt me, or have them discover my weaknesses and find me useless.

The next part of the assignment after this is to reflect on what you have learned and how it feels. When these questions ("Who am I?" and "Who do I pretend to be") come up, reflect on them and consider them, and feel and experience these experiences. You can write it down somewhere or share it here or with someone you trust if you want to.

Rapunzel