By Amie Yansane
I was looking through my camera roll the other day, looking for photos to delete, and found
a TikTok I forgot I downloaded. Without any warning, it just hit me. “You need to work on your
shame. You don’t want to live your life only have being ashamed.” The video was more of a
satirical tone, but the message still hit the same way. Have I really put away my shame, and why
have I accepted a life of it?
All of us have some sort of shame. In my case, I found that video because I was erasing a life I
once lived that I felt so ashamed of. Of course, shame is a human experience that all of us must
go through, but shame feels rooted in the smallest mistakes.
I, like many people, find myself being ashamed of so many things: Failing an exam, ending a
relationship, or even saying the wrong thing. So sometimes I think about that video and think
about what life could be like if shame weren’t a commitment, and better yet, expected to be a
commitment?
I do believe that a life of shame is not an enjoyable one, so I took that video to heart. So now I
am still working on my shame. I no longer mask it as humility, but rather remove it when I notice
it.