Humans seldom find themselves defining who they are, based on mistakes. Simply because a bad feeling or a memory is more likely to stick around than a good one for the oddest of reasons that we are yet to put in to words.
Everyone does it, regardless of gender, race, age, cultural background etc.
It happens.
People make mistakes.
It’s how we learn.
It’s a part of life.
There was a boy who did everything out of love, for his friends, for the people he cared about it. Hell, he would hide bodies for the people he loved. Somehow, he had managed to build up a reputation for messing things up or for being irresponsible. Sometimes his actions weren’t the best, sometimes he made mistakes – as human beings do but that didn’t make him a bad person. He made a mistake, and things started to fall apart.
But he didn’t care.Or at least, that’s what he told the world. His heart was something made of gold, but was tainted by the nicotine that he consumed to stop the pain. But it was still gold regardless of everything. His mistakes, made him feel like he was not worth anyone’s time and made him feel like he didn’t deserve what he had. “I fucked up”. Little did he know, that he was one of the most wonderful creations. It wasn’t every day you would find someone willing to put their fear, and pride aside to help someone they did not know one bit about just because people he cared about were afraid. Mistakes make us human. People shouldn’t define each other or themselves based on their mistakes.
Funny thing, the same boy – had a friend who was apparently the ‘perfect’ child. She had the best grades in her class, she was beautiful and kind, had a good group of friends, a strong family and all that generic stuff that people consider ‘perfect’. Maybe it’s a culture thing. She was well-known in her community and her school, for being one of the most responsible young adults around, simply because she had the best grades and what not. But, one day, to their surprise, she made a small mistake – mind you, this was very minor and would not affect anybody or anything, but things started to fall apart.
She was over-worked, tired, she just wanted to live her life and be a teenager. People had conjured up the idea that she was their superhero – and maybe she could be, she was confident enough to do so, but even superheroes need a break. This one mistake ruined her reputation completely and she was labeled something that she was not. She lost a hell of a lot that she also deemed most important because that’s what her society told her. She sought validation from people who believed that academic perfection was the only goal in life. But she was so much more than letters on a paper, if you asked anyone – they would talk of her kindness and generosity towards people, her selfless nature. Mistakes make us human. People shouldn’t define each other or themselves because of their mistakes.
People destroy their self-esteem because of one thing, and it kills them inside, but they won’t tell you because they are afraid. It’s painful to make mistakes that just so happen to ruin relationships or compromise careers – but nothing lasts forever, and more than not, things are fixable. Maybe it culd have been stopped, but it doesn’t matter now, it was a mistake. Mistakes happen. But it’s okay. Everyone makes mistakes, despite who they are and where they come from. What matters is what you do after the mistake, how you learn from it.
