What advice would you give to your teenage self?
You’re full of hope that one day you’ll be free. Adulthood is considered freedom.
Prepare for disappointment, my friend. You’ll not be free, but a slave to the endless cycle of capitalism and people pleasing. You’ll be enslaved into the idea that if you work hard, be friendly and honest, buy this or buy that, you’ll be happy and people will love you. But the world is filled with illusion and pretense.
One harsh reality is that one day you will realize that people you thought were your friends and have your back are merely backstabbers and saboteurs. They’re also pretending. They’ll chat and laugh with you, smile in your face, then gossip and plot against you behind your back, just to have some semblance of control over their miserable lives.
If not for the very few who (seem to) care, you would’ve been oblivious in the delusion of friendship and professionalism, until you’re shocked by the agression. It ultimately bubbles to the surface and their true faces are revealed.
Maybe subconsciously you knew it beforehand, the uneasy feeling, the side eyes, the whispers. You had a feeling that there is something undermining you and creating a negative energy. Jealousy or some made up fallacy in the overactive mind.
What do you do? You seek advice that says you must have faith, remain strong and indifferent. It happens to everyone and you are a good person and you know you did nothing wrong. Nothing that can be proven against you but a question mark on your image.
You take the advice but still feel weak, with knots in your stomach. How can you look pretenders in the eye and remain emotionless? Act as if nothing is amiss? You can, because you’ll also be pretending.
It will take massive strength, my friend. Have hope, but also prepare yourself for the bad that lays ahead…
In Conclusion 