To My Future Child,
The year is 2021, and so many times I wish it wasn't.
I am 21 years old, but most days I feel like I have to act 51 because people are so immature. This world is not the same world that I was living in when I was a child. I wake up every day and wonder what else will go to hell and what else I have to conform to just so that I can get by. You get degraded and disrespected as a person if you vocalize or post the "wrong" thoughts or beliefs.
This is a world I am scared for you to see someday.
Throughout my entire childhood, I learned to keep political views to myself. I am not here to project my political views onto you, don't worry. Political and ideological projection is all around us whether we realize it or not. The people we engage with and the organizations that we identify with, project, project, project. This projection, however, has gotten to the point where I can no longer go to school, work, or go on social media without someone projecting political views onto me, and I'm tired of it. It has become normal to politicize every decision that you make. Covid-19 vaccine: political, abortion: political, global warming: political, everything: political.
You will be tired of it too, just you wait.
I'm tired of how sensitive people are. The entire world is not subject to change when one individual realizes they are uncomfortable or that they have an insecurity. I read that somewhere and it stuck out to me.
Yes, sometimes I myself get really insecure by the models I follow on Instagram or the by the models in magazines. I want their perfect skin and perfect bodies, along with all their other luxuries, but people have a hard time determining what's real and attainable and what's not. Vogue is not going to stop printing issues just because I don't look and feel exactly like one of their models. Sometimes people I follow on social media have different views than myself, and yes sometimes it makes me uncomfortable. Do I make a big deal about it and push my views onto them? No. Do I personally think that people should project their political views onto their following? No. Do I take the time to educate myself on other's viewpoints? Yeah, I do because I want to be able to understand where their views come from and what they mean. It is up to you and me to understand and learn about our insecurities rather than placing blame on other people and things. We are not forced to follow these "perfect" people with seemingly "perfect" lives or buy magazines or watch movies or TV shows that are always projecting perfection.
We aren't forced to follow supermodels and politicians. If they bother you, step away from them. Don't put time or energy into hating and disagreeing with them. You can avoid both the insecurity and disagreement.
Imperfection is beautiful. Winnie Harlow's vitiligo and Owen Wilson's nose are beautiful. The diversity in color, gender, race, and ideologies is beautiful.
What isn't beautiful is how divided we are as a country right now.
If you've got other beliefs than others, you're "canceled". This cancel culture that has surfaced has become a breeding ground for toxicity. People's careers and lives are being ruined. You say one wrong thing twenty years ago and it can and will resurface, and it will be the end of you.
There is no going back, no redeeming yourself, you are stuck in Monopoly jail.
I'd like to see the skeletons in closets of those who are so concerned with canceling people. If only we could teach those who make mistakes to learn from them instead of tearing them down and ruining their reputation. We talk so much about being unique and having our own thoughts and opinions, but is that really true? Are we really allowed to hold our own opinions? What does it say about society if I feel I have to hold certain opinions to myself? I fear those I know finding out certain viewpoints of mine and that those viewpoints will change how they see me. How fucked up is that?
I guess what I'm trying to say with all of this, is that society isn't inclusive.
At all.
Society and social media have a way of shutting people up when they have beliefs that are different from the mainstream ones. Sure, we're inclusive in other ways. We've created plus-size clothing lines and hired plus-size models, we've included LGBTQ+ individuals in campaigns, ads, and movies. We've added she/her/hers to bios and we've started to recognize Black-owned businesses and learn Black history. However, if you have something to say about those changes, or again about mainstream beliefs, you best watch yourself.
Your life could be on the line.
You could lose everything.
You can learn from your mistakes...but only after it's too late. I wish to raise you in a world where you are free to be yourself. Free to be a size small or extra-large, republican or democrat. I wish to raise you in a world where people can learn from other people and be open-minded. A world where things don't have to be political. A world where getting a vaccine means you believe in science. A world where you can talk openly about what you believe and still be loved by everyone.
I hate to say that I hate the world that I live in right now, and I truly hope and pray that things will be better for you than they were for me growing up.
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