The Facade that is Life
Have you ever felt that everything in our lives at the moment is a facade?
From what people post on social media to the smiles on their faces when you meet them, is there anything left in life that is actually genuine?
For example, there are people who are unhappy in their relationship but continue to post happy pictures on social media with their partner on a regular basis. I also know of a person who hates most people but smiles happily in front of them and treats them really well but speaks ill of them behind their backs. Another acquaintance of mine used to buy clothes to take pictures for their Instagram posts and then return those dresses within the same week for a full refund.
Why do we live in such a world where we cannot be genuine to one another. If you feel that you dislike someone / something, why can’t we be honest with each other? We’re living in such a snowflake era that we are so afraid of hurting each others feelings and yet we are hurting each other subconsciously with all this fakeness.
This inability for us to be our authentic selves leads us to a generation with mental health disorders. Everyone is putting up a fake persona in front of each other to show the world this “perfect” image of themselves which leads them to lose touch with their actual personalities.
Do you even know what you actually like anymore or do you just like it because everyone else does? Are those new pair of sneakers actually the ones you wanted or did you buy them because your buddies said they were a total flex? Most people fall into the latter category and end up losing themselves along the way. We’re always so afraid of what other people would think of us. Newsflash, nobody really thinks about us. That’s the cold, hard truth.
Some people even live their entire lives in their fake persona and die feeling unfulfilled. Yeah, I’m talking about the douches whose entire personalities are built on “making money” and owning Porsches, Ferraris and APs and showing these off. Along the way, these people forgot about living authentically and most likely even forgot that there was more to life like taking a break in nature or spending time with loved ones or even exploring somewhere new.
If you feel like you resonate with any of these sentiments, perhaps try to get in touch with your inner self a little more. Re-explore your childhood hobbies and ambitions. Would your 12 year-old self be proud of who you are today? Put your phone down and speak to people, especially to those who haven’t yet drowned their authentic selves in social media. Tell someone off if you feel like they’ve wronged you instead of saying it behind their backs. I’m sure they’ll get over it eventually and at least you were true to yourself. Post something cringy if it makes you feel happy. Listen to whatever music you actually like instead of just curating Spotify playlists for your friends.
It’s time for us to rediscover our authentic ourselves in this messy digital age.
As some of my favourite YouTubers would say, “Stay true to yourself and stop giving a f***”