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The internet has been getting on my nerves a lot recently. I’ve had to stop checking my Facebook upon waking because I simply don’t have time to be appalled first thing in the morning. Since when did we, as a society, feel like it is our job to tell people how to live? Wake up, everybody, it’s not! The only thing that we should be doing is what we want to do – forget everything else.
I see it everywhere. Ban guns! Ban abortion! Say no to whatever the argument is this week! I’m going to let you in on a little secret – banning things left and right makes me frustrated. It’s supposed to be a free country, we are supposed to make our own decisions here. Now, wait a second, I can already hear what you’re thinking. “It’s for our safety!” Granted, some things should be restricted, for safety purposes, but banned is a little extreme. If you don’t like guns and aren’t comfortable with them, don’t go out and buy one! It’s flat out logic and it’s incredible how it works.
Don’t like guns? Don’t get one. Don’t like Harry Potter? Don’t read it. Can’t stand The Fault in Our Stars? I’m going to throw you through a loop here – don’t get into it.
Here’s what’s wonderful about being individuals. No one ever said we all had to like the same things! My best friends and I can’t possibly be more different, and that’s what makes our friendship so glorious. I hate One Direction, she anxiously saves up to buy her ticket ASAP. I love weird anime movies, she thinks they are completely weird. I don’t try to ban or prohibit One Direction and she doesn’t make me stop watching weird anime movies. It’s called being unique. Quite the concept, I know.
In a world where we are so far stuck up in each other’s business, we really desperately need to be a bit more self-centered. Focus more on what you, as an individual, are doing. Why are we so concerned about what everyone else is doing? Take a step back and evaluate that. Does it really harm you in anyway? If it doesn’t, it shouldn’t bother you in anyway. There are a lot of things I don’t agree with, terrible reality TV shows being one of them. I am not, however, writing an article on 1,001 Reasons Why We Should Ban Trashy Reality Shows. I also don’t limit my friendships to people who don’t like those shows either! One of my very best friends loves a TV show that I will not name here, but that doesn’t mean we don’t get along!
What a terrible way to base your future friendships off of. “Oh, wow! We both love How I Met Your Mother and Applebee’s wing night! I’m so excited that you read Game of Thrones, too! We have so much to talk about – wait, what? You support gun rights? No. Stop it here. Let’s…no. I see you in an entirely different light now.”
Do you. And don’t let anyone stop you. You will be so much happier if you stop picking things apart trying to find something to get mad over. Stop letting yourself get so angry about things – and that’s coming from a person who loves to debate. Recognize that we are all human beings, we all like different things, we all make the world what it is today. I may not agree with what you like, you may not agree with what I like. But I wouldn’t ban horseback riding because, on average, 100 people die a year from the sport. It’s something people enjoy doing, so it would be horrible to take that away from them.
No one is saying you can’t not like things. All I’m saying is focus on what you, personally, are doing and less on what other people are doing. Set high standards for yourself, live life the way you would like to, chase your dreams – but keep in mind that those things are all relative to you and not the entire world.
