Breaking Free of Societal Expectations: Part One

“Why aren’t you happy? You should be happy…you have everything you need.” I’ve heard this countless times throughout my life, and it’s true. I have a great life. I have a stable and caring family, great relationships with my siblings and parents, and I have amazing, supportive friends. I went to college, got a degree in nursing, a car and a job, grew up physically healthy with a house, clothes, food, a dog, and don’t struggle to make ends meet. From the outside looking in it may seem perfect. A beautiful, blonde, skinny girl with a perfect relationship, family, friends, and a dog. Always smiling so big and looks so happy in her Instagram pictures. She made it. But that’s just it. It only SEEMED perfect. You honestly never know what someone is really going through, so why assume? Somehow hearing those words- “you should be happy”- only intensified my feelings of guilt towards my self and society. I SHOULD be happy. I felt horrible for not and it fucking sucked-sometimes still does-having that pressure on you and trying to figure out why. But nobody is perfect and the expectations of this world we live in sometimes can make it feel impossible to be the real you. Impossible to be comfortable choosing our own path. It can feel impossible to make mistakes, feel emotions, and not make decisions based on what is expected of you. Impossible to show your true smile.