It's 2 am and I've come the realization that I preach a lot of crap for someone who lacks in life experience. I say the right things to the people I care about when they're hurt or upset, I somehow know exactly the right words to calm them, make them feel a little bit better about themselves. People pleasing. I feed them words, say what's expected of me, become a shoulder to cry and then at the end of the day I realize that I'm simply telling them exactly what they want to hear. But this analogy goes farther than just words.
I can sit here on my butt forever writing things that I think will get shares, likes and favorites on social media. I can sit here forever and become a clone of what society wants me to be. I can especially sit here forever and start to feel whole as the likes on Instagram rake in, popping up on my new iPhone 6 every millisecond.
That makes me sad for the future of the self-esteem of our generation, our children's self-esteem, and even more sad realizing that we are all guilty. Why does the amount of likes we get on one stupid drunken picture suddenly equate to our worth as a human being? Whoever travels the most, has the most friends, is in the "best" sorority on campus, has the coolest life, is suddenly powerful. We all post articles on Facebook, articles that speak against societal views and promote a more loving, accepting world, but when we do, even then we continue to feed into the same never ending cycle of confidence boosting that never seems to fade away with every like.
It's that people pleasing thing again. We post on social media what we think will get likes. We strategize the times of day that more people will be looking on Instagram, some use hashtags, ghost followers and filters to make their life appear more glamorous, or better. I fall victim to some of these things. I know we all do. As a generation, we need to learn that the image we uphold on the internet is not what determines the quality of our lives, it does not equal happiness. I constantly have to remind myself of this as I scroll through dozens of sorority Tumblrs, am utterly disgusted by sites that were built to tear down greek organizations (the name is not worth mentioning, but you know what I'm referring to), and lust after clothing while looking at fashion blogs.
I'm not saying to completely up and delete all of your social media, I am just hoping to bring a little prospective to the table. Open a few eyes, maybe. Just remember to find happiness elsewhere every once and a while. Focus more on the memories being made rather than the photo op. Trends fade but happiness can be worn for a lifetime.
"I'd rather be honest than impressive."
