Sunday 20 September 2015

EL: EXPECTATIONS

Reader El writes about the strict and harsh expectations that face girls growing up in today's society…

El says:
Ever since I was small, I have known that girls have plenty of expectations to live up to. To be the prettiest girl in the class. To have the most followers on Instagram. To be flawless, to be perfect. I have even set some expectations for myself, though to be honest they are very different ones!

As a kid today, I actually do not care what people think of me. I don't care if they love me or they hate me - that's their choice. As Kurt Cobain said, I would rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I am not. It's true. I don't want to be loved for something I am not - it wouldn't be real anyway. Truth and honesty has to come first.

It doesn't matter if people hate me. So what? If I believe in myself, that is what matters. Why would I change to please a bunch of strangers? I will never be the kind of person who gets excited over a designer handbag. I am who I am and if people don't appreciate that - if they hate me for it - well, better that than to be adored for being a person I am not, being fake. I say what I want and I choose to hold the views I believe in. I am not going to change myself to climb higher up the social ladder. I will always be who I am.

Check out El's blog at: theramblingssofmoi.blogspot.com.au

Awesome artwork by reader Hannah - thank you!

Cathy says:
Wise words from El… learning to be being true to yourself is key to the growing up process. I don't think anyone can be happy if they are so busy trying to please others that they lose track of themselves! What do YOU think? COMMENT BELOW to have your say!

7 comments:

  1. Yay! And I feel really embarrassed because I've changed my blog address since then. My blog address is now theramblingssofmoi.blogspot.com.au. I'd be SO happy if you guys checked it out. Thanks Cathy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm the same as El. I am me. I can't change that and I don't want to. I measure myself by my own standards and not anyone else's because that would just bring me down. I'm never going to be the best looking or the smartest or the richest or the most successful. I'm just me. And that's OK. I'm not perfect but no one is. As Kurt Cobain said, why would I want to be loved for who I'm not? They wouldn't love me, they'd love who they think I am and that wouldn't be me. That would be a façade. My friends describe me as "kind and smart". I think that's better than "pretty and popular", for me anyway. There's nothing wrong with living up to society's expectations if that's who you really are but if it's not, you shouldn't have to pretend. Sorry, I ramble a bit.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I guess i sometimes feel pressured into being someone im not by other girls in my year..

    ReplyDelete
  4. True, EL. These days all that most teenagers are up to is to put up a glamorous facade to be more attractive and popular, and peer pressure plays a major role in it. However, if more people can see that being true to yourself fetches you true friends, the world will be a happier place.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I honestly do not care what people think of me either, I am who I am and if people don't like that then they care suit themselves. However, I am the type of person who would swoon over a designer handbag (again, just who I am aha!) xx
    http://pinksmartiesblog.blogspot.co.uk/

    ReplyDelete
  6. I remember being lost in a chase to keep someone in my school happy. I was so sick of people walking away from there that I lost myself trying to keep them satisfied. Learning from that, it's never good to spend your time trying to make somebody else happy especially if they don't really appreciate it anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ever since I started living as a Kiwi in the middle-earth, I've found it much easier to not care about what others think of me. I think it takes away a tremendous amount of stress. I can wear the same outfit for an entire week and only change the jeans for the next week.
    I would swoon over a designer handbag though, like maybe not the top brands but specific brands that are doing quite well that I really really like! :D

    ReplyDelete

EMILY: INSPIRED TO HELP REFUGEES

Reader Emily, aged ten, explains how a Cathy Cassidy book inspired her to raise money for a refugee charity... Emily says: The Cathy Cassidy...