Choices, Decisions, and Opinions
As a child I was a hardcore people pleaser. To me, what mattered most was how everyone thought of me. It consisted of blindly following directions, never turning down favors, and staying quiet so I couldn't be criticized for what I said. As I grew older there came a point where I just couldn't care enough to try and please everyone. How could I do something without believing in it? In truth, some part of me enjoyed pleasing people. I could help others to make them happy and I felt good from their praise and attention. Slowly, that began to disappear and I found peace in making my own decisions. It was a simpler than I had thought it to be. In reality, no one was forcing me to do anything, it was a decision I had made and another decision I made to climb out of it.
That being said, as a teenager living in the era of technology I am ashamed to admit that I am very uneducated and easily influenced by the environment around me. Blindly believing people is so easy when surrounded in a storm of words from all kinds of different people. Sometimes I just wanna take the easy way out and crawl under a rock and hide. However, I trust that I am not the only one, and as people, this is a natural process.
I've also been told by many people that expressing one's opinion is an essential skill to life. So, I've been working on developing opinions first, before I can even attempt to express them (baby steps). Still, I'm still a very neutral person, not many strong opinions unless its something silly like mango vs pineapple. That why when I read David Foster Wallace's "This is Water" speech, it felt so familiar. It encapsulated exactly what people feel, put into words, into a tangible format, written on paper. It was a wake up call to people like my younger self, and a goal to myself in the present, that I am working towards. Everyday, every action, every word is a choice, and I am realizing how significant it is to be able to have that option. I feel very grateful to have read and analyzed this in class, learning and hearing from other people's perspectives.
I loved the way you used people pleasing as a topic because I’m also a people pleaser, and I definitely connect with this. Your writing sounds so nice. It truly feels like I can hear your voice when reading it. My favorite is the last paragraph, which is structured so efficiently and descriptively to express your point.
ReplyDeleteThe way you started with your own struggles felt very real and raw. It takes a lot to be so honest with yourself. I, too, am a people pleaser and I can resonate with how easy it is to be molded by your environment. Great paragraphs and lovely writing!
ReplyDeleteI appreciated the real and sense of personality that came through when reading this. Your description of your personal life when you were younger felt really relatable! Your transitions felt very natural for the flow of the blog!
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I heavily relate with this post. I struggled a lot with people pleasing as I was growing up since I felt the need to always appeal to my parents and others around me. Like you, I also stopped trying so hard to make others feel better than myself. I really like how you summarized your life experience and then brought up the article DFW wrote. I'm glad you learned to choose yourself over others. Amazing work!
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