Cicero's Perception Of Image Of Myself

Cicero's assertion that when someone looks upon a true friend they will see a sort of image of his or her self can have many different meanings. This assertion can apply to myself in many ways. My true friendships tell me a lot about myself as well. They can also tell a lot about me to others as well. I will be discussing this assertion and its relevance to myself. The assertion that when I look at one of my true friends, that I am looking at a sort of version of myself is truly an interesting assertion. When I look at my closest friends, I do see many similarities between myself and them. The question I must ask is are they a sort of image of me, or just coincidentally similar? My answer to this is both partially yes and no. When I look to my closest friends I see them as partial images of myself. They embody certain aspects of my personality, but they also can show traits that are polar opposite to mine. For instance, when I look to the first of my closest friends, he embodies my passion to inquire and to
learn, but he also is almost always socially prominent whereas I tend to confide in being desolate many times when I wish to relax. When I position myself as an outside observer to myself and my friendships, I tend to see qualities of myself I do not normally realize.
Such as that I am more charismatic than I think I am when I am around my friends. I also notice that my general personality shifts greatly when I am surrounded with people whom I trust. But the greatest thing I realize is that I become “guilty by association” so to speak when I make acquaintances when with my friends. I tend to become more approachable around my friends because they convey openness to others while when I am on my own I tend to avoid confrontation. If my friends are being obnoxious, I reap the consequences when they are being reprimanded, although I try my hardest to not cause anyone trouble when on my own. Lastly, if my friends are being friendly to people around us then if someone approaches me they almost automatically assume that I am just the same as my friends, which in this instance would be
true. Things change slightly if someone was to look at me without the omniscient knowledge of my life that only I possess. If one was to look at my friends for an idea of what I am like, they might find an answer that would substantially vary depending on what friend they focus on. If one looked to my closest friend, they would most likely have a good idea of who I am. As my closest friend possesses intellect and social stature much similar to mine. Other qualities of his are farther from mine however. Looking at my second friend, one would find that he is very unlike myself and would not find a representation of me unless they were to look at his ethics. His ethics are very similar to my own and on those ethics, we founded a great mutual friendship. Though, one quality that spans across these two friends and myself is loyalty in particular. None of us three would ever stab the other in the back, figuratively speaking that is. In the essence of Cicero's words, when I look upon my true friends I can catch a glimpse of an image of myself. If a person was to look just at my friends to piece a picture of me together, they might have some difficulty getting the whole picture. It is my friends who help define me and enlighten me to new things about myself. That is how I feel Cicero's assertion applies to me.