Are you "Comfortable" with your avatar?

I've been thinking about it for a while. I kinda know about the history of kid avatars in SL and all the horror stories of the harassment that still seems to continue. I have been reading the forum posts of people that avoid kid avatars like a disease. The funny thing is that nobody inworld has even ever considered to ask me up front why I'm so small.

Actually... I have had ask how, but only on a technical point of view... They wanted to know my slider settings. (^_^)

But, I really am asking myself lately... Why did I choose to be one of the socially messiest avatar types possible and go as far as considering it to be my (mostly) permanent inworld presence? After thinking about it, I'm starting to put ideas together... (=_=)

Am I trying to relive my childhood or a childhood I never had? - I don't think so. I like to think of myself as a person that lives in the 'now' and doesn't hold on to the past or have any anxiety for the future.

Am I an S&M type trying to take on a submissive role? - No way! I could never be that much of a pushover. I refuse to be adopted. And I eat the rude!

So, what am I doing to myself? - I think I'm trying to characterize the way I really feel in RL. The rules, regulations, and restrictions that are applied to kid avatars in SL very closely reflect my own personal limitations I deal with all the time. People, places, and things that are unapproachable inworld have the same untouchable feel to them in my own mind. Not that I don't have the desire to dive into situations or locations. It's more that I've been conditioned enough to have a certain fear of those things to the point where I avoid them to no end.

As a person, I don't think I've ever truly matured. Sure, I type nice and sometimes use big words, but my own mind and behavior is very underdeveloped from what I see in the world around me. I internalized a lot of the restrictions I dealt with as a RL kid to the point that it wasn't "No smoking under 18", "No drinking under 21", "Too young for that language" because I saw it more like "No smoking for YOU", "No drinking for YOU", "No swearing for YOU".

So... As a kid avatar in SL, I find myself in the perfect fit for myself. And, maybe that's why it's so difficult for me to step out of character inworld. Maybe that's why I find myself becoming so freakishly nervous when I'm in my biggie shape. It seems to explain the simple minded guilt I feel when I approach my friends in a 5'5" avatar. My inworld presence really does feel like a perfect fit for the way I feel about myself in RL.

How about you? How much of a connection do you feel with the form of your avatar? How do you live with the perks and limitations that come with your avatar of choice? And, is there ever a form you take on with your avatar that makes you uncomfortable?

***Please excuse me for sounding a bit emo/freakish... I'm funny that way. (=_=)

I love being me. Don't wanna be anyone else.
In real or otherwise.

I love being me. Don't wanna be anyone else.
In real or otherwise.

I love being me, too. I am only sad that I can't really be me in RL. :-/

Interesting question

In short, I feel most comfortable in an AV that has at least some of my physical characteristics. Perhaps in psych-lingo it means I'm comfortable in my own skin.

Personally, I have a problem with child avs if you are using the child av to do adult things. That just squicks me out.

IBTL

Pep (wonders why people are necroing threads just to get them locked.)

I feel at home in all three of my 'main' avatars.

Doesn't this qualify as Schizophrenia?

Let's not talk about that here. It's been argued to death already, to the detriment of otherwise good threads.

First, intentions mean little. It will become an argument as shown in the many threads so far about this.

Second, it is more saying there are copious chances to post your opinions on the matter in any of the dozen or more threads already started this month without having to drag yet another unrelated thread into the quagmire.

[mini-hijack]
You know, I find forums such as this so interesting. People who have been on the forums for a bit believe that because they have already had a discussion about a topic that it should not be discussed again. Regardless of whether the topic ends up being a positive one or a negative one. Telling a newcomer that they shouldn't say something because you have all debated it to death is exactly the way that forums such as this are seen as unwelcoming and exclusionary.
[/end mini-hijack]

The OP and resulting posts asked a question. I answered it in a pretty simple manner. If you don't like my response, then don't respond to it. My intentions really have nothing to do with it. If someone wants to come behind me and argue (um, hmmm, maybe like the people who responded telling me not to say that here), that's on them.

First, I wasn't planning to argue about it.

Second, I'm new in the forums so even if it has been argued to death already, there may be others like me who have something to say about it. Are you saying that just because people who've been on the forums awhile have already hashed something out that those new to them shouldn't be allowed to talk about their opinions? Just making sure I know the rules here, ya know.