He wakes up. He goes to school. He smiles.
He walks down the hallway, greeting people left and right. He shows respect.
He goes home, talks about his day as if there was much to it, then walks into his room.
He plays sports, goes on late night trips, attends parties, all while maintaining the perfect 4.0 GPA.
“Be a man”, “Men aren’t weak”, “Be strong, don’t cry”, they said. “Fake it ’till you make it”, they said. “Be the best, nothing but the best, and win”, they said.
Did ‘they’ ever think about how much those words can affect someone? Did they ever think about what that kind of pressure can do to an individual? Did those people consider the effect of bottling emotions?
He wakes up. He goes to school. He fakes a smile. He follows his daily routine- going through life each day, pretending that everything is okay.
He shoots, he scores. Cheers are all around him, but even in the midst of his victory, he can’t help but feel like he’s losing. He’s losing the game called life. He’s dying inside.
Although I am an optimist, filled with hope, I am also aware of the different issues present in the world today. My last post, “Hurricanes”, focused on an environmental aspect. “His Life” focuses on an emotional one. Throughout adolescence, there’s a great deal of pressure because expectations are set higher and everything, from people to different types of platforms, is telling you who you should be. I wanted to try and raise awareness about one thing that some teenagers struggle with.
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Inside an Optimist's Mind 