Several things I've witnessed in the land of Facebook over the past few weeks, coupled with the college and high school graduations I've attended, have led me to do some deep thinking.
I almost wish I could go back to my early 20's. A time when I knew everything about everything, and wasn't afraid to share unsolicited knowledge and advice as I felt necessary, regardless of how it made people around me feel. After all, I was an adult, I had the right to say and share whatever I wanted. If people were offended, so what. Ignorance was, in fact, bliss......so much bliss.
Here are just a few of my past know-it-all moments:
As a teacher, I would NEVER do things the way my Ag teacher did...I knew how I would handle every situation, and it would turn out a million times better.
FALSE: I ended up calling my Ag teacher in my third year of teaching to apologize for being such an all knowing dick. While I still joke that I think of how he would do something and do the exact opposite, the man knew his stuff, and I attribute my career to his influence.
As a spouse, I would NEVER struggle in my marriage. Why can't two adults just come to an agreement through compromise anyway? It can't be that hard.
FALSE: Marriage is way hard y'all. Way hard. Taking two completely different people and putting them in close quarters and expecting everything to be butterflies and glitter? Insane....especially when one of them is a woman who's mother trained her (a little too well) to be completely independent.
As a mother, I would NEVER allow my children to behave the way other children do. Have you seen the way kids behave!!? It's terrible! Their parents clearly don't know what they're doing.
FALSE: We're on day two of summer break and I'm ready to ship my two treasures overseas. The adjustment period of them having to live together all day every day is driving me INSANE!!! I don't care how much of a rock star parent you portray yourself to be on social media....someone knows you and your kids in real life and can probably tell us all about your less than stellar parenting moments....we all have them. Go ahead childless readers.....say it'll never happen to you.....you know you want to.
I would also never struggle with mental illness...is that even a thing? How can people be so selfish and attention seeking? Seriously, why can't they just get over it an be happy? Maybe take a walk in the woods....I hear that helps.
FALSE: I happen to fit in to the two most stigmatized categories in society...I'm fat and, for the most part, don't care (do you know how many people are outraged by a fat woman that thinks she looks good?), and I have depression. No, I'm not sad and mopey all the time...actually, most of the time I'm awesome, thanks to modern medicine and Big Pharma (I love you Big Pharma)...but I have my moments. Mental illness is still a pretty taboo topic with most people, simply because they think, or want to think, it doesn't exist. It's not real, it's all in my head. I have lost track of how any times my husband has said "Why can't you just be happy? You have such a great life." Oh if only it worked that way...
In reality, my twenty-something self knew very little ABOUT very little. I have had to eat my "I would never" so many times I can tell you.....it tastes terrible. As a thirty-something, I look back on things I posted on social media even 5 years ago and think "What the hell..."
So, twenty-something's, before you share the next snarky meme and make the next all-knowing post about some social issue, realize that you probably know very little about what you're about to spout off about (that was a lot of abouts), and you never know who's reading it...ie, a friend struggling with mental illness, or parenting, or their marriage, or a future boss (yes, future employers do in fact Google you). Trust me, you too will look back on some of your social media posts one day and think "What. The. Hell. I was such an idiot."
No comments:
Post a Comment