the gray area.

hello readers.

i still am appalled sometimes at the society we are brought up in.

we are taught from a young age that how well we do in school is what defines the rest of our lives and whether or not we are worth anything at all.

money is a prize waved in front our faces like a tease.

relationships are only temporary and God is just a back-up plan.

i see it in the people i go to school with. tired and worn down because their parents are disappointed in themselves for marrying too soon or not attending a high class university and they are expected to change the meaning of their last name.

i see it in people in the news and who star in movies. the cost of a few drinks is worth more than their own value of life.

i see it in kids who had to grow up too fast. facing fear and uncertainty on a daily basis. from house to house, mom to dad or whoever that even is.

people who live infinitely but fear death more than anything. and then it’s over and their family has to read the letters and pay the debt literally and metaphorically and clean up the sharp pieces and the court cases and the trash and spend the rest of their life wishing they had been able to do something to fix the brokenness.

we are taught to live in such a way that leaves a legacy of secrecy and regret because after a while none of it feels good enough. nothing we can do after a while will satisfy the craving to fit into the mold the world has given us of “good enough” or “smart enough” or “stable enough”.

it’s time to get real.

because school shouldn’t leave us scared for the future.

money shouldn’t lead us to believe materialism will stuff a gap closed.

kids shouldn’t be uncomfortable in their own homes.

people shouldn’t feel like giving up is their only option.

because it never is.

we have just been taught that life is so very black and white.

it’s not.

find the gray area. your gray area.

claire.

 

 

something to get over.

hello readers.

i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again, lately there’s something that really bothers me.

i’ve noticed at school or in public or church or an everyday conversation a topic will come up that may be controversial, “awkward”, “offensive” and it is too often dismissed.

we are taught growing up that we shouldn’t talk about things that are violent, we shouldn’t draw pictures of weapons, and we should ignore topics that make us uncomfortable. i have often experienced adults intervening in conversations at school and saying “that’s not appropriate for school”. for school.
what?

so yes this is a real topic but for some reason in an area of education where young adults are supposed to be prepared for life we are told to silence our thoughts and questions?

avoiding the talk of real world issues -war, addiction, sadness, illness, bad relationships- will not make them go away. they are still there and always will be so why is it so terrible to talk about them? does it make someone uncomfortable? is it awkward?
well then i’ll be the first to tell you that not all conversations are easy to have but avoidance of them is not the answer.

i want to be around real genuine people who do not sugar coat reality or even their own lives and struggles they may face. i want to know the truth and ultimately we all will at one point or another so why not now? why is it so hard to accept that there are sad, scary, terrible things happening? throw a blanket over it but it will be there as long as you leave it there. as cruel as this may sound sometimes i just want to tell people to get over it.
it’s time we start accepting our society as exactly what it is and stop dramatizing situations that are completely real. maybe this would stop us from doing the same to people.

claire.