My bandmate said this to me yesterday. He wasn't talking about personality stuff; he was talking about gender. AAAAAaarrrrggh! I didn't think of this when he said it, but he's a closeted bisexual. I have no problem being myself. Maybe he needs to check himself.
Me as a boy is my authentic self. Me as a girl is also my authentic self. I'd just rather be a girl, so that's what I'm doing.
It seems to me that there is only one person in the world who knows what your "authentic self" is - and that is you!
I think though, that our friends and family associate our past presentation with "authenticity." It is up to us to create a new paradigm.
Only you know who your authentic self is. Be whatever makes you happy. We only get one life.