One really weird thing about spending time with my family after years abroad, is realizing that everyone else thinks I'm a bit crazy for doing things that, to me, seem perfectly normal.
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Basically anything can be normalized by a human being living inside that context until it seems totally normal, ordinary.
Outside that context, not so much!
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All I did was to decide, at 20, that I'd had enough of caring what was expected of me, and would just do what seemed right to me, and then do it.
It takes a lot of conscious empathy for me to remember that this is not considered normal. I can barely imagine living differently.
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The real regret is not having the courage to do this at 15.
That's when I really realized that meeting expectations in bigger picture life decisions is just internalized social control.
But not going with the flow was a lot more challenging than simply picking up that insight.
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Lot more to say about this, but it's time to get back to work. Hopefully I'll still remember in a couple of hours.
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Uh, guess I did forget about this thread for a while. Got a stomach bug. Shit sucks... wait, nevermind.
So, where was I?
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Turns out, not having the courage of your convictions can be a really costly problem, both personally and financially.
As in, don't do it. Especially not if you're going to change your mind later and do what you feel is right, because honestly, why wouldn't you?
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