There's been a lot of "opinions" floating around this worldwide web. Which I guess it what's supposed to happen on the worldwide web. If I want to stand on the proverbial rooftops of the internet and yell "I LOVE THE COLOR PINK" I'm allowed to do so.
And what I'm about to say is no way in no how knocking people for doing that.
Have an opinion.
Share your opinion.
Stand strong in your opinion.
But what I just can't understand is when and why we all decided that we were not only going to share our opinions, but we were going to bash people who didn't share the same opinions.
I'm the first to admit, I have a really hard time seeing other people's point of view. It baffles me that everyone doesn't just think the same way I do, because obviously the way I think is the right way, duh.
Except, even typing that I realize how ridiculous it is. To me the way I think is the right way. And to me the way I chose to do things is the right way. That's why I think the thoughts I do and do the things I do. But I'm an intelligent person and I'm smart enough to realize that not everything thinks and does things the way I do them.
And here's the groundbreaking news: that's okay.
The thing that has been bothering the most lately is that the things that people are disagreeing on are stupid stupid things. I'm not talking disagreements on gay rights, tax reform, or public education. These are topics I expect to see arguments about. People tend to stand very strongly on one side or the other and typically throw stones across the line. This isn't right either, but at least it's expected.
No, lately the arguments people have been having are about things that don't matter at all.
Like how old you have to be to get married.
Or the value of being a stay-at-home parent.
Here's an idea - do whatever the hell you want.
If you're in love and want to get married at 22, go for it. If you would rather rock climb in South Africa, go for it. If you'd rather sit at home with Netflix and junk food, go. for. it.
Marriage isn't about an age. (It's also not about all the other things people think it is, but that's for another post.) Marriage is about commitment. Bottom line. You make a promise to someone and you continuing making that promise everyday for the rest of your life. This can happen when your 20 or when your 85. Just like divorce can happen at any age, after any amount of time - if you lose sight of your commitment.
As far as "women's roles" in society. Really? We're still having this debate. If a woman wants to stay at home covered in spit up with 18 kids running around, let her. If she wants to put on a dress suit everyday and go bring home the bacon for her kids and husband, let her. If *gasp* she doesn't ever want to have kids of her own, let her. Why do you care?
Everyone is fighting their own battle. You think your desk job is the hardest thing out there. And maybe it is...for you. I (hopefully) guarantee while you were sitting at that desk you didn't have another human being wipe their boogers on you (something that happens as a teacher, I know from experience, and I'm sure for a stay-at-home mom). But at your desk job you probably did have an adult send you a nasty email or maybe someone ate your sandwich from the staff fridge. Either way - everyone's got something shitty that they're dealing with.
We, as women, as bloggers, as human freaking beings, should not be the "something shitty" we're dealing with.
This post is not a response to this or this. It is not a back-up for this or this.
It is simply a post telling you that I LOVE THE COLOR PINK but I will still love you even if you don't.
Completely agree. People have a tendency to automatically put others down because their opinions aren't the same. I have a friend that constantly does this and it baffles me! Women definitely shouldn't be putting down other women and I HOPE that's something we can all agree on.
ReplyDeletePreach on. I told someone I had a three-year-old the other day and they were like "but you're in your mid-twenties, didn't you want to have more fun first?" I was baffled. Ummm first of all they obviously don't know my kid and how much fun he can be but also, who are they to say my life is over because of Sawyer (even if he was a surprise baby).
ReplyDeleteI know I just found your blog--but can I hug you now? Would that be creepy? Okay, maybe it would be. But holy freaking crap. You practically took the words RIGHT OUT OF MY DANG mouth with this. I've been seeing SO MUCH negativity about what other people do these days and it's been driving up a freaking wall. I can't stand it. At all. And people make SUCH BIG DEALS out of things that aren't even their business! And the whole marriage thing? I had some blogger bash the crap out of me because I got married when I was 23. It didn't matter that I was a week away from being 24. It didn't matter that at that point my husband and I had been together for 7 years. All she saw was an age. And basically told me there was no way in hell my marriage would last. I can't help but say that I smiled to myself when I read her "I'm getting divorced" post nearly a year later...and oh. I'm still married.
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