I don't know about guys, but it's almost as if girls have grown up saying "sorry," even when they didn't do anything wrong. Most girls want everyone to like them, so instead of making a bad impression, we apologize for things that honestly make zero sense for apologizing. We apologize for the way we dress, the way we look, the way we act, the way we react, and the way we feel. In case you haven't noticed, we are in the twenty-first century. Females should not be taught that they have to look, act, or feel a certain way. This is where the journey of self hate begins for most young women. They begin to doubt themselves, and then start apologizing for everything that makes them unique. I believe we should hold ourselves to a higher standard.
For instance, if someone slightly disagrees with us, we apologize for having an opinion. Girls should be taught that it's okay to have a strong personality or to think outside the box. Not everyone will like you, and that is just fine. If you're being 100% honest, you probably don't like a lot of people either.
Take two to three minutes of your time to watch this inspirational video from Barbie. I know what you're thinking, it is crazy to go watch a video from Barbie. Seriously though, this is a top-notch video that shows real problems with our society as a whole.
With this being said, I decided to change my ways, for a week, and see how this affected my self-confidence. Instead of saying sorry, I will be saying thank you. I will only be saying sorry when an apology should be made. I also asked some of my friends questions on what they think about the word and how they use it.
At the beginning of the week, I caught myself apologizing over and over and over again. However, by the end of the week, I realized I felt better about myself and had more confidence than ever, just by taking one word out of my vocabulary. I understand that there are times when you should give your apologies to others, but I think as a society we have taken the word way too far.
Overall, I found that the majority of the females in my survey apologize, even though they are not sorry. As a society, we have learned how to tip-toe around situations to make every "like" us. We struggle when judged, we do not like for anyone to look at us a certain way or to talk about us. We are overly sensitive to the harsh reality that is the world we live in. Life will throw you curve balls from time to time, but you have to learn how to adapt to the changes. We should teach ourselves, and others, that living unapologetically is acceptable and can result in you doing great things.
