Ever seen people at a wedding frown at a groom’s choice of a bride? They want to believe that he certainly could have done better. “Guys have you even seen her nose?” One of the groom’s friends comments before they all burst into laughter. The groom invites them to celebrate with him but they will secretly mock him and taunt him for his seemingly scandalous choice. They will go like, “what did he see in her?” It is immaterial to them that the groom took his time to pick someone whom he thought made him happy. Someone that made his world complete. To them, she isn’t his ‘type’. Whatever that means!
It’s because society likes to be the jury passing all kinds of judgement. People like to set a standard or yardstick that we must live up to. It’s the people around us looking over our shoulders that dictate what is or isn’t right for us with no regard for how we feel about certain things. It’s like we are under a microscope to the extent that if one isn’t looking at us, they are looking through us.
Can I put on my favourite suit to that party I have been eager to attend? Well, I can’t. Society believes that it isn’t fitting or classy enough to be worn anywhere. I would be slandered if I dared to. It is almost criminal to tell a teenage girl that she is fat these days. Pop culture around the world has dictated that for one to be called sexy or something close, they could as well do without food. The ideal teenage girl should be rail-thin, piercing cheek-bones with evident need of a sandwich. The struggle to look beautiful is real people. Why should one revel in dark skin yet they could swim in all sorts of cosmetics on the market to lighten their skin? I mean all adverts that flood our TVs have made girls believe that it’s trendy to be light skinned and emaciated.
And how about the supremely talented musician like Kevin who is stuck in an engineer’s body? Will he ever follow his dreams? Absolutely not. His family has a lineup of doctors and lawyers that it would only be logical for an engineer to fill that only gap in the family. Is he happy? Not even close. The pursuit of his dreams would only compromise the love he always got from his family, so why put that love to the test. For Kevin, it is a dream dead and buried.
When a person is too generous, he is a show off and when he is doesn’t give that much, he is called selfish. Why would a person pull out his last coin to help someone yet he knows there is a huge price of judgement and insults that come along with it? Can’t one just enjoy a cup of coffee without someone sniffing over it? Is the freedom to do what you feel like so much to ask for? It’s sad that society will bring down their own. They will discourage you rather than celebrate with you. But such is life for you. We have got to deal with it.