How have you been?

September 2015

I can’t complain.  Well, actually I can.  For a start, I can complain about all of the mishaps that come with being a teenager, such as having to maintain a social status by hanging out with people that do nothing but tear you down while internally balancing your fragile ego and externally pretending that you’re happy to be there.  I could complain about my braces putting me through the worst pain of my 17 years because the wires are too tight, or I could complain about living in a family whose budget is too tight.  I could complain about the relentless expectations placed upon me- these expectations once being so simple are now a burden when you have three AP classes.  These expectations include getting the highest level of TOPS, and making straight A’s, and keeping my room clean, and being involved in school, and maintaining relationships, and eating a nutritious breakfast, and getting a solid eight hours of sleep every night, and doing all of these things with a positive attitude because I am one of the lucky ones.  The lucky ones.  I cannot deny the truth in that statement as I remember the 155,000 people that lost their lives today, and the children in less developed nations that are forced to work in textile factories to support their eight brothers and sisters.  I remember 85% of the world would dream to have my worst nightmares.  I remember the truth that the stress that comes with school will pay off, the braces are coming off soon, and my family’s financial will never be as rich as the love they have for me. Then, I wonder.  I wonder, if I could just experience the ways of the rest of the world and learn to think with a global mindset, would I still consider my problems as problems?  Would I be able to empathize with others at all?  While I feel that it is okay to think of my own situations in this manner, I have realized that it is a narrow, condescending way of thinking if I think that someone else’s problems are not legitimate just because they live in a developed nation and probably won’t die of an infectious disease.  It is a constant battle in my mind, rather to ignore the chaos that is mine and everyone else’s life, or to focus on nothing but what is wrong in order to not lose sight of what I want.  Other than that, I can’t complain.