claricelecter@hotmail.com
Human beings are interesting. We are complex creatures, with emotions, complicated thoughts and dreams so big that sometimes they exceed the capacity of our bodies. Even these are a series of processes that, when they work in harmony, make the magic of our existence possible …
Just being a person should be interesting enough, but no. We always look for ways to decorate our lives with different trophies, especially when we want to make a good impression on other people, since, apparently, the vast complexity of our existence is not enough to cause a reaction.
Normally, we seek to achieve certain academic merits. Many of us want to finish our studies, get a degree and, if possible, a postgraduate degree. For many, that means a better job opportunity, which will facilitate obtaining the goods and services one requires in order to live. “The more prepared one is, the easier life will become” is the lie that many of us tell ourselves. Titles help, of course, but many of us know the famous «you are overqualified» speech in a job interview. Sure, they want the studies, the experience, the good attitude, the availability, the ability to work under pressure and the goal oriented mindset, but they are unwilling to pay for it. Ironic, isn’t it?
So for this we have to excel, it is necessary to fill out a resume with all our academic and professional achievements to be able to attract the attention of the person who receives us so they want to hire us and we have to be questioned in an interview (or several) to determine if we are the perfect candidates for the job. We have to dress in our best clothes so that they see that we are valuable and presentable and we prepare our best smile so that our willingness to work is noticeable. All good, we need to work to live and in a competitive world, we must put our best face forward.
But we also compete for other things in life. We do it to have the best grades in school, to be popular, to have a partner, we even have to compete to buy a house. Everything in this life is a great race to win the best prizes. Even when you already have things, you have to constantly fight to keep them. It turns out that reaching the goal is easy, now you have to continue with the effort in order to stay there.
The problem is when we overstep our bounds to get attention. When we want to impress people with unreal things. We want them to think that we are more than we really are. That can already cause problems. When we offer a twenty dollars and we only have fifteen to give, we are creating a false expectation that, unfortunately, we will never be able to deliver.
It is like when we lie about things we do in order to impress someone who we like. I’ve done it. It’s stupid of me, but this is about being honest, so let’s be honest. I’ve lied to impress people that interest me. They are simple things and very in the past, but I have adorned my history with shinny things. Like when you tell a story of yours and add an extra detail that did not really happen. Or you just say something you have never done. One of my biggest flaws is that many expressions that I come up with, I tell people that someone else said it. Once in a class I brought a poem of mine that I shared with my students and told them it was from a friend of mine. The fear of being judged was real. In the end it was a success and they loved it because it spoke of suicide and the despair of the human being, but I didn’t want them to know that it came from my mind.
Even today I work hard to present myself as I am. In present times my efforts aim to love myself as I am and not to impress others. Okay, I still have insecurities like anyone else, but it’s time to love what I have, not to paint myself pretty and create the illusion of another person that I am definitely not.
The biggest problem of adding cream to your tacos is not that they have cream, but that the moment comes when that unreal image that one presents becomes more desirable than what there really is, so you want to become what you sell, and you always fall short. It is like when you want to have the bodies of the models in the magazines, perfect, without any blemish that makes them look like human beings. What we often don’t know or choose to ignore is that these photos are retouched to fill an unreal standard of what a human body is. People have stretch marks, people have moles and spots on the body, that is normal. For that level of perfection, they pay someone a lot of money to retouch the photos and erase any mark that is «unpleasant» for the eyes.
And really, who do we want to impress? To other people who think that we are worth it as friends, as lovers or as potential employees or to ourselves that we don’t give ourselves enough credit of what we really are worth? Maybe we want to convince ourselves that we are valuable and that we will deserve good things because we don’t believe it. In my case I assure you that that was the case: I hated myself so much that I preferred to introduce someone more interesting so that they would like me.
Even doing so many things at once and was a sad effort to be loved…
And at the end of the day, when I began to appreciate who I am and what I am worth is when I stopped looking for approval in the eyes of others. It is when the opinion of third parties ceased to be a priority in my life.
Now my voice has power and my dreams have become a sweet and powerful reality.
I’m Mostro …hear my voice soar…
And you brothers, sisters, what do you think? Share… if you dare …
Kind regards.
Mostro.