ever wonder whenever you see someone, no matter in real life or through the social media, and you think “how come they are able to keep it all together?”. this may happen more than once even in a day, and this thought most likely come across when you don’t know that person well.
protecting the self-image has always been the essence for a group of people. public figures, families with reputations — people who think highly of themselves in general. the self-image can come across as being righteous or being physically attractive. some things that can boost the ego and give a sense of superiority.
however, with the current “cancel culture” and vast information you can obtain in the internet, it has become harder and harder to maintain a clean image. people will always find your mistake. the silly thing that everyone has forgotten about: we, humans, are not perfect. if we are perfect, we will never advance. not knowing what is wrong can never make us become a better version of ourselves in the future.
for instance, you can try your best at making people like you. pleasing them left and right. burying all the negative emotions you have of them. only to find out the bitter truth that someone out there will always find a reason to dislike you. looking back, i can say that i used to be a people pleaser. i liked being liked. it felt safe to become this person who people would most likely side with. then i grew older and i realize, although kindness overcomes, it does not mean i couldn’t express my discomfort of certain things. it took me a couple of incidents that being too kind can bite you in the back eventually. that and i had just become more realistic with the things that had happened to me in life. i looked back and realized it might be the part of me that trying to overcompensate for something lacking in my life. what i didn’t get was that it also cost me my own well-being.
i personally have a conflicting view on cancel culture. to some extent, they are done right. however, some people have misused it for their own agenda. i think with mistakes, the most important part of it is accountability. understanding what you did wrong and learn from it. more importantly, remember to not repeat it in the future. few mistakes are harder to digest for some people, and that is okay.
i appreciate people that are not afraid to show their flaws. embracing imperfection like it is normal — because it is. at the end of the day, there is no one you should please but yourself.
