by ValerieW-17 , 18 August 2010

"Life's no fun if everything is embarrassing or weird."

I was browsing through my pictures folder on the computer the other day, trying to clear some files, as my laptop has been lagging as of late. In the process of this, I came across many surprisingly meaningful quotes and one-liners, but the quote above stuck out in particular.

The thing is, we live in a society where propriety is encouraged and pushed upon us from a young age; it's become a cornerstone of life in Hong Kong, and many other places. You see it everywhere. Take the common Asian phenomenon of "Ivy League Obsession" for instance. It's become so mainstream, so requisite to be taking a SAT prep course that it's no longer anything extraordinary. In fact, it’s unheard of to simply not be interested in working your butt off to attend some fancy, brand-name college. God forbid you have no interest in going to Harvard and becoming an overworked, depressed investment banker! God forbid you want to major in something "impractical", like theatre or gender studies! Another example of this trend would be the stunted behavior of people in public places such as the MTR (subway).

At times, a train carriage on the MTR more closely resembles a funeral parlor than anything else. People talk on their cell phones, play NDS and chat quietly with their friends, but one thing is the same for everyone: the fear of being embarrassed. Rarely do you see people brave enough to break the unwritten taboo of expressing how they truly feel by being boisterous, for fear of being thought inconsiderate, or worse, insane.

Now, this may sound hypocritical, coming from a person who’s easily irritated by such “inconsiderate” behavior, but as strange as it may sound, the older I get, the more I value the most basic of human impulses: self expression. These days, everyone is so focused on acting the "right" way to avoid being laughed at by others; few people ever take off that filter. Only a few people ever dare say stupid things or post ugly pictures for fear of getting mean comments. Everyone is so jaded and cynical by the age of fifteen, it's not acceptable to be idealistic anymore. What happened to us?

Somewhere along the way, I guess, we grew up and realized that it's easier to hide behind a wall of neutrality than to really express yourself, unrestrained. But come on, people, if we're like this already, think of what we’ll be like when we're, say, forty. These are supposed to be the best years of our lives---why trap yourself in a little box, afraid to be embarrassed? So much joy in life comes from laughing, and much of that laughing comes from doing harmless, silly things.

So, go ahead---try on those ridiculous sunglasses, blow kisses at strangers, post those pictures on Facebook for everyone to see. Do whatever you want without thinking about how people will laugh, and I bet you'll see the difference immediately.

“Live. Laugh. Love.”
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