What does it mean to you to be authentic?

I love making the joke of always keeping it Riel, staying TRU(e), etc. I would like to hope that I never come off as being fake. I want people to be able to put their trust and faith in me and I want the same of others.

To me if anything a show of being authentic is the testament of all my friends that I have known for years and kept up with via the internet. I've been blessed with the fact that many times I've gone out on a limb and met some amazing people. I am happy that my parents have supported me in my adventures and I have been once again blessed that I have never had any scary encounters of meeting someone who was not what they portray in the virtual sense. I've known my people like Jason and Mike since I was 15 and I can't say that I could just as easily find that kind of resilience as easily now. Even with the distance between us it's one of the strongest bonds and I can't say that I've ever really found that in these recent years..