Writer: Menna Abdelfattah
Editor: Khaled Mohamed
What do you see when you look at a painting so mesmerizing?
You’re dumbstruck.
You wonder how the artist that painted this came up with the idea.
Or you try to picture if you, yourself, could ever achieve such a feat.
How many of us sometimes look at a person and just say ” I wish to be her/him”?
How many of us feel envy whenever someone has something that we had prayed for but never gotten?
How many of us only look at what people show us as a front and not try to dig deeper into the precious parts?
We have so many goddamn faults, but we only strive to look at others’ mistakes to point at and mock them with.
But why? Why is it that humanity, once thought to be our saviour, has gradually become our doom?
Do you know what the person you’re targeting has gone through?
Did you ever stop to think about that before speaking and doing all those things?
Has the thought of you actually getting to know the other person ever crossed your mind? Well, of course it did, but you never paid it any attention.
You think you have the right to control others when, in reality, your issues control you.
You have several problems in your life.
They hurt you.
Affect you.
Scare you.
They put you down every other time.
However, they are the key to building you up.
They are the key to unlock the door that is a symbol of power, strength, hope, confidence, joy and happiness.
You may have gone through countless obstacles along the way,
Maybe family issues
Maybe friendship issues
Maybe mental issues
Maybe you got mixed with the wrong crowd
Maybe you suffered silently
Maybe you think you’re alone
And maybe you’re just so caught up in your problems and your hatred that you don’t see what’s around you clearly.
You don’t see that you can just go ahead and make new friends that’ll stick by you through thick and thin. Always listening to your rants whenever you feel like ranting. Always helping you when you need it. Always building your confidence and boosting your feelings up.
Or you can stand up to whatever is pulling you deep in waters. At one point in your life, you’re bound to stand up for whatever it is that’s burdening you. Sooner or later, right? But why not now? Why not end all this suffering right at this moment? Why can’t we do that immediately, so we can enjoy whatever is left of our lives? You’ve spent so many freaking hours pondering over your problems and all the possibilities of “what ifs” but you’ve never acted upon all those imaginations.
And because of that, you act on the easy targets. The targets you know will never be able to beat you because you’ve turned into the person you wish to stand up to. You take all your frustrations and anger on a soul that hasn’t wronged you. Maybe, you don’t realize it yourself that you’re now a clone of what you hate, of what you wish would go away. You don’t see that what you’re doing is wrong or maybe you do but you’re ignoring it because that’s the only way you know how to handle your pain. By hurting others, you feel satisfied. By ruining lives, you feel calm. By making others experience the same pain you feel, to feel like you’re not alone.
But that is not the answer and that will never be the answer. I know it’s really difficult to actually open up to someone, to trust, because you may fall if you trust the wrong person. But you learn from your mistakes, you stick with those who stood by you in your darkest moments, even if at first you disliked them with a burning passion. You fall and get up again, never losing faith. That’s what makes you, you. That’s what builds you up into the amazing person you are now. So please, never underestimate the power of words even for a second. Words can change your worst days to your best days, but they can also drag you down to a place you never wished to feel.
Please, be careful with what you say. Think about your words before speaking them and calculate your actions before doing them.
Don’t take your frustrations and resentments out on someone who has nothing to do with the issue at hand because the final result will never earn you your awaited happiness.
