As I've made my ascent into the post-grad working world, I've noticed something about my interactions that I've never noticed before. I find that my peers (and even people older than me) have very jealous natures about them.
Maybe it's because we're all connected through social media. It's so much more amplified. We all wait for the picture of the ring when a friend posts as a status update, "I'm engaged!" It's impossible not to notice the girls that were popular in high school, peaked in high school when you see that they have "hair school" listed as their education on Facebook and their mobile uploads consist of hundreds of pictures of their kids. But who am I to judge?
I see it everywhere. It's a huge competition (and everyone in their early twenties is invited) to see who makes the most money, who drives the best car, who has the best boyfriend, who's baby is cuter and who is the better mom/wife/husband/father. Who goes to the gym most often and who gets into all the fancy OKC parties. Who can quote the most bible verses and talk about scripture. Who makes the best baked goods found on Pinterest. Who's gotten fat and who has gotten skinny. All the time I hear "Oh they aren't doing anything with their lives," or "She's going to make an awful mom." BUT WE DON'T EVEN ACTUALLY KNOW. Can't we just be happy for the people in and around our lives? Why so much jealously and hate?
I may be one of the worst offenders. Although I am not as vocal as some, I can find myself constantly comparing myself to others my age. "Do I have the right job? Do I wear the right clothes? Am I seen with the right people? Am I skinny enough? Are they judging me?" All questions that float through my head on a daily basis. I'm hoping that this jealously thing is just a phase. Every day I pray for purpose and peace with my life and it's something that I struggle with.
On the flip side, It also makes me sad to see the people around me that are older, and should be wiser, struggle with the same issues. Whenever I get "one-upped" in the gym or hear a woman talking about another in a demeaning way, I try to remove my heart and feeling from the situation. What do they do, sit around and look on Facebook and compare their lives to others? That's no way to live.
It's a "mean girl" mentality, but after it's all said and done, does it really make us feel better? When we're finished talking about the people that need to "get a life" we still have to walk out the door and live ours.
What do you all think? Are the people who are the most jealous/mean just unhappy with their own lives? How can we fix it?
Mal xoxo
1 comment:
That is a good question. I think you're definitely right about Facebook and other social media being a big factor. Its so easy to sit back and judge people that we don't really know by what we see on the internet.
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