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They’re fascinated by the plane’s crash as much as the takeoff.
To some extent, I think people maybe enjoy watching reality shows (such as the ones on TLC) in hopes of witnessing someone act erratically or have a breakdown or behave in a way that makes the viewer feel better about themselves. “At least I’m not that bad.” I have friends who watch those shows and have said as much about their motivations for watching. Maybe this is normal. I can’t blame anyone for wanting some form of reassurance that they aren’t “like that” and that they’re fairly normal. This is based on limited information. It’s hard to fathom how many different events a person has gone through in their life. I still remember new things I had forgotten over the years. Some of them make me cringe.
But when is life a straight path from A to B? We don’t know the circumstances that led to someone being the way they are, not unless they provide that information. It’s never simple. Speculation can be cruel, if not outright harmful. There are some things people don’t learn or haven’t learned yet. My parents tried. It’s complicated when you’re raised by people who have to grow through their own immaturity and formative events. Both of them went through heavy circumstances, as did a few of my grandparents. What do you do when you’re growing up with parents and grandparents who didn’t have tools to cope with their own traumas?
They tried. I’m trying. I don’t know if it’s possible to come back from being so socially inept that I don’t realize what I’m saying doesn’t come off as well-intended as I think it does or that people need breaks from me or that someone stepping back to think about a situation doesn’t mean that they hate me or stopped loving me. But I do know that I can and need to make an effort to be warm, to try to understand. It’s my responsibility to heal no matter how upsetting it is to be in this situation. How many times have I hurt someone else with my incompetence? Probably many.
I often wonder how many others are like me or used to be like this, if it’s possible to change. I think my inner child wants to accept love and to give it back. I don’t know how. Sometimes I get the feeling that people don’t believe me.
The loss of my father is sinking in. He had nothing but love for his family and friends. I sorely wish I could have been as personable and loving as he was. He could talk to anyone. He helped everyone as much as he could. I wish things would have been different. So much of it.
And I wonder how many people out there have faced a similar struggle or are still grappling with their demons. Sometimes it’s a very public struggle, and sometimes you’d never guess it was happening because they keep it quiet. You don’t want to put it out there at the risk of being rejected. But then it’s not always easy to hold it in. I hate my explosive episodes, the fear, the paranoia that if I let people get too close they will hurt me or that they’re planning to hurt me.
Then there’s the ever present feeling of having no place in the world. Do I belong here? Why am I not normal and what’s it like to be normal? Do people compare their worst behaviors to mine and thank whoever for not being like me?
Show me someone who hasn’t fucked up. Show me who someone who has never erred. Show me someone who can honestly claim that they’ve never hurt someone without meaning to do so.
We are flawed.
More Posts from Strongshape and Others
hi, a lot of you need a perspective reset
the average human lifespan globally is 70+ years
taking the threshold of adulthood as 18, you are likely to spend at least 52 years as a fully grown adult
at the age of 30 you have lived less than one quarter of your adult life (12/52 years)
'middle age' is typically considered to be between 45-65
it is extremely common to switch careers, start new relationships, emigrate, go to college for the first or second time, or make other life-changing decisions in middle age
it's wild that I even have to spell it out, but older adults (60+) still have social lives and hobbies and interests.
you can still date when you get old. you can still fuck. you can still learn new skills, be fashionable, be competitive. you can still gossip, you can still travel, you can still read. you can still transition. you can still come out.
young doesn't mean peaked. you're inexperienced in your 20s! you're still learning and practicing! you're developing social skills and muscle memory that will last decades!
there are a million things to do in the world, and they don't vanish overnight because an imaginary number gets too big
Arthur Rimbaud (b. 20 October 1854)
Having a traumatic childhood means you cannot talk even objectively about your basic foundational experiences without it being "venting", even if you're not actually venting. You just straight up have a huge chunk of your life you can't talk about, full stop, without it being trauma dumping.
And it not being socially acceptable to talk about your own childhood is super alienating. Sometimes people want to know why, and any answer you can give them is going to be off putting.
It's to the point I get irritated when something I said is framed as venting when I'm literally just talking about my life experiences, doing my best to keep emotion out of it.
“I’m not into convincing people I’m worthy. I’m into people who’ll convince me on my worst days that I’m still worth the world.”
— Reyna Biddy
holding yourself accountable and tearing yourself down are two different things
