From My Window Sill

"Care about what other people think, and you will always be their prisoner."

A prisoner, to yourself. Who would have thought. Of all people to imprison, why would one choose themselves? I am guilty of it too many times. I like to think of myself as a care free person who can go her own way in life. Every now and then I will catch myself caring far too much as to what others think. I don’t know for what reason. If someone chooses to think hateful things about you, how will you change that? Should you even try? Is it worth it? If you love yourself, does the rest even matter?  I love myself truly. At the same time, I care deeply if my actions unintentionally hurt someone else. This is when I truly care what other people think. This wasn’t how I have always been though. When I was younger I used to care what everyone thought of me all the time—so much time wasted. A wise man once said; care about what other people think, and you will always be their prisoner. The first time I truly realized this was somewhat recently, surprisingly. For a grown woman you’d think I would’ve figured this out sooner. My mother always told me you can never change anyone, so don’t expect to. I won’t change either. I will not change myself and I will not try to change other people. Time isn’t real, yet somehow I feel I have wasted so much on worrying about what others think. I feel as if sometimes people can tell that I know who I am and am confident in that. I feel as if they may not like this. It’s a prison that they have built—not I. It’s like a trap. You can choose whether you walk right into it or not. Society and people in general subconsciously continue to try and put us into boxes– If you are Asian–you must be smart. If you are black–you must be violent. If you are white–you must be rich. If you are Hispanic–you must be uneducated. If you are gay–you must be feminine. If you are an immigrant–you must be a criminal. If you are a criminal–you must not have a family. If you’re a woman–you must be overly emotional. If you’re a man–you must never cry.Don’t ever let yourself be put into a box—a stereotype. We are so much more. Don’t imprison yourself. Set yourself free. Free from all judgments. You are one hundred percent in control of how you feel about everything in any situation. No one can make you feel inferior except yourself. Care about what other people think, and you will always be their prisoner.

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