You will eventually come to the realization that remaining quiet and comfortable won't make a difference. People will always pass judgment on you before they have a chance to comprehend your tale. Particularly in our Indian society, family members may assume they already know everything about your life without ever asking what you are truly going through. Before hearing your side of the story, they make assumptions, compare your life to others', and pass judgment on you. Since all you ever needed was a little understanding rather than pointless opinions, it really gets tiresome after a while.
The irony is that those who are older, more seasoned, married, or have been employed for a long time ought to have a deeper understanding of us. However, occasionally they are the first to raise concerns about our decisions. Rather than politely inquiring, "What are you doing now?" or "How are things going for you?" they accuse someone of being irresponsible, confused, lazy, or unsuccessful right away. The way people make assumptions without fully understanding the circumstances is more painful than the question itself. Explaining everything is exhausting when we are already mentally exhausted from our job, stress, survival, and life in general.
There comes a time when you begin to focus on understanding yourself rather than waiting for others to understand you. Risk starts there. It's frightening to take chances since no one can guarantee success, but it's even more frightening to remain in one spot all the time. Sometimes you have to relocate, find employment far away, or even travel overseas—not because it was your initial dream but rather because circumstances forced you into survival mode. To be honest, you learn things from survival that you can never learn from comfort. Without even realizing it, you gradually gain independence.
Additionally, money alters our perspective on life. People frequently claim that happiness is more important than wealth, and they are right. However, reality is also different. Food, gas, rent, bills, transportation, and occasionally even peace of mind are all things that require money. When you are attempting to create something for yourself while others around you are constantly doubting your choices, the pressure increases. Uncertainty in income, stressful work settings, and manufacturing jobs all have a greater impact on mental health than most people realize. However, a lot of people continue to make assumptions about other people based on their occupation or income.
In my opinion, some information ought to be kept confidential. One of them is salary. I've never understood why people, especially women, feel so at ease asking others how much they make. Just because someone is curious doesn't mean you owe them your specific income. Sometimes individuals ask because they want to compare, evaluate, or gauge your value using numbers rather than because they genuinely care. However, a person's worth is never determined by their pay, title, or perceived level of "success."
At the end of the day, nobody is going to live your life for you. People can talk, judge, compare, and criticize, but only you know how hard you are trying to survive and build a future for yourself. Some journeys look lonely because we choose to handle things on our own, not because we hate people. We just learn that peace becomes important when life already feels heavy enough. And maybe that is the biggest lesson in growing up — not everyone will understand your journey, but you still have to continue walking through it anyway.
Mirhaa05 (hemirhaphysio@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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