Have you ever felt like you’re in a constant cycle of trying to live up to other people’s expectations of you?
Well, you are not alone!
Majority of us constantly compare ourselves to others, shy away from being ourselves just so that we can meet these unrealistic expectations. People choose certain colleges over their dream college because other believe that is the best college to go to. People choose jobs which they hate only because they think it’s the ‘right’ choice and is socially acceptable. People hesitate over a million times before posting a picture on social media worried that they wouldn’t live up to the beauty standards. We’ve seen this all happening around us all the time.
I keep trying to tell myself that over the past few years, things have changed, people have stopped judging others and that we are living in a much better world where there is more positivity and understanding for each other – but unfortunately, that is not the case.
In today’s fast evolving world, there is a constant sense of pressure to be perfect. Be it in terms of social media, beauty, academics or social life. If we are not on top of everything then we stop believing in ourselves, think we are not good enough, not pretty enough. We are constantly comparing ourselves to others and striving to attain ‘perfection.’
But how can anyone define what is perfect? Everyone has their flaws and things they dislike about themselves but it’s important to embrace them rather than change them. Everyone is unique and beautiful in their own way. No one should have a bigger say in your life than you yourself. Societies standards over the years have become unrealistic and what is more unrealistic is the fact that we try to live up to this image.
There seems to be this constant pressure which is put on us. Be it in terms of going to the best college, joining the best societies in college, doing well in academics, getting great internships, etc. But sometimes it’s okay if we cannot fulfil all of these. After a point all that matters is whether we are happy or not. Sometimes it’s okay to enjoy the present, enjoy university life and feel good about ourselves rather than constantly being pressured to becoming this ‘perfect’ image of a person you are not. Having self-goals is great because those are things which we want to fulfil for ourselves and is attainable but fulfilling far-fetched goals which society has set for all of us unattainable.
With the increase in popularity of social media as a platform, it has many positive and negative impacts. Of course, social media is great as it connects all of us together and helps build new relationships but at the same time, with the increase in popularity of this platform, the true meaning behind it has disappeared.
Today social media is used as a tool to judge who is popular based on their followers and friends list. People judge others based on how many likes and comments they have on their recent pictures. If the acceptable amount of likes or comments is not received on a picture, there is a sense of anxiety, fear and the feeling of not being good enough. Some people even delete their pictures because they feel it is not good enough or they have not received enough ‘likes.’ Majority of the stuff uploaded on social media does not show the reality of a person’s life. We only see what others want us to see, but the reality may be far more different.
We all should work hard to achieve our personal goals, but we should not be pressured to do something or be someone we are not. Not going to a good college does not mean that a person will not end up doing well.
Everyone wants to look good, but we cannot let the society define what the characteristics of being pretty is. Every person is unique and beautiful in their own way and no one needs to have a thousand followers or friends on social media to prove that. We all are different and if we keep chasing these unrealistic expectations to be perfect, we will lose sight of our most unique qualities.