Why is it that we feel the need to share our opinions on how somebody else is living, whether we’re asked to or not? We claim to celebrate diversity and individuality, but the second somebody deviates from the norm or makes a surprising life decision, we have something (most likely something bad) to say about it. Of course, we’re all entitled to have opinions, but weren’t you ever taught that if you have nothing nice to say, not to say anything at all?
I have a pretty good guess at how this all started: social media. People we went to middle school and high school with, people we claimed we would never see again, are popping up all over Facebook and Instagram. These sites serve as windows that look directly into their lives. But we only see what they allow us to see. A girl from high school posts a picture of her newborn baby boy with shining, blue eyes and a huge smile. She put that picture up for the world to see because she was proud of what was in it. But despite how much love is in that picture, someone sees it and tears her down for having a baby at 20 years old — an age too young, in their opinion.
A boy, who seems to have everything lined up for college — perfect grades and honors and surely many school acceptances — decides to take a year off instead. He came to the decision because he had the opportunity to travel before starting the next chapter of his life, something he always dreamed of, and he was excited to share his decision with the world. But someone sees this announcement on his Facebook status and disagrees with the decision. In their opinion, he’s an idiot.
That’s the thing, though: it was their opinion. While that girl takes care of her loving child and enjoys everything that comes with being a mother, and that boy has the time of his life traveling the world, seeing amazing things and meeting unforgettable people, others are staring at their computer screens with judgmental eyes and minds. What they fail to realize is they’re wasting away their lives peeking into and judging everyone else’s, while doing and accomplishing absolutely nothing themselves.
There is an infinite amount of paths to take and dreams to have in this life. And chances are, we aren’t all going to travel the same ones and long to experience the same things. So try to see with a little less judgment. Feel happy for someone rather than assuming you should feel sorry for them because they aren’t doing life exactly the way you are. We all find joy differently, but joy is joy no matter where it came from. Let’s let one another enjoy joy.
