Society prefers public shows of joy and emphasizes the private moments of despair.<\/p>\n
On Youtube, there are videos of wedding celebrations and baby’s first steps. And even with sadness, it’s a focus on the happy things\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe perfect, good memories. Yet, it’s unhealthy, of course, to dwell in unhappiness, to let its burden sink the soul. And I can find so little about specifics of what went wrong and how it went wrong.<\/p>\n
A few days ago in a search for a tax accountant, I came across yet another SF-type startup that would connect me with professionals. I quickly put together a bid. After I submitted, I browsed through the website, looking at video testimonials and recent transactions. Then I saw a name and face that I hadn’t seen since my college days. A person who had represented the ideal life an adult. Happily married, having fun, satisfied jobs. In college, I admired the union, perfection and mutual support. That could be me, one day, I thought then.<\/p>\n
In college, she took a photo of a mural in Chinatown. I had taken the same photo too a few months before she posted it. And I wanted to know how she did it so well.<\/p>\n
So I naturally clicked on the video expecting a tirade of advertising for the service. To my shock, she said, “I am a single mom.”<\/p>\n
After college, I had forgotten about her and her husband, finding other goals. But far back in my mind, I always wondered. How can one pursue art with support? How can one be happy in relationships? They did it, after all. So I searched the Internet curious about what happened. But nothing popped up. All I found was delicious content that if made today would naturally spread virally. The alternative way to marriage and all of that.<\/p>\n
And yet, in the photo and video, she hid all of that. She was herself, without the partner. All happiness and the spunk.<\/p>\n
And whatever despair, there was, it was hidden. Gone. Because everyone wants to celebrate joy. And not frown at broken moments where we need help the most.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Society prefers public shows of joy and emphasizes the private moments of despair. On Youtube, there are videos of wedding celebrations and baby’s first steps. And even with sadness, it’s a focus on the happy things\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe perfect, good memories. Yet, … Continue reading