People don't recognize you if you're not worldly enough. Life shouldn't be one big popularity contest, but it is. The people who are working multiple jobs to keep their family fed don't get noticed, but those people who have Cadillacs are noticed. In the Reality TV show Undercover Boss, the head of the company go undercover as an entry-level worker working for their own companies, and in every single episode the Undercover Boss encounters a low-income employee who has made so many sacrifices, overcomes challenges and overworks, just to feed the family, all while not being recognized by their employers or supervisors.
There are many people in your life who do amazing things and give their all for a cause so dear to them, yet they get unnoticed. I'm not saying that we need to make a big deal about their actions because most of them don't want that. They just want to know that they are appreciated. So many people are un-appreciated. We seem to "appreciate" the bold decisions made on the TV, or in the legislation, but we don't see the people behind that. We seem to appreciate those friends who we know we can depend on, yet we sometimes fail to have a simple appreciation for the police who risk their lives for strangers. We appreciate the awesome cops who give us what we want, yet we lack any appreciation when they have to uphold the law. There's the stereotypical scene where a teen is coerced into hosting a party while his parents are gone, yet his parents find out anyways, and he still doesn't become any "cooler" than before he hosted the party. If you don't meet the expectations of society, then you're excluded from peers. This isn't necessarily always the case, but it is what I've seen, from my experiences from my social struggles.
People need others to survive. We as humans desire to be accepted and appreciated for who we are. I see posts on Facebook that make fun of people who have never seen Star Wars or Lord of The Rings. I'm always surprising people when I tell them that no, I have not seen or read the Harry Potter movies, or watched any Marvel or DC Superhero movies. I am Lucky to live in an environment that is accepting of others, but there are many other teens who are not as lucky. The culture says that it's not enough to be yourself nowadays, but they are wrong. It was only when I started being who I wanted to be and stopped trying to be like the others that I began to thrive and grow into who I am today.
The society today wants us to be worldly. We have to have cool cars, sexy wives and do "good deeds" in front of the public to be accepted and appreciated. We have to agree with everyone or else we're seen as traditional racists. Silently they say
Whoever you are, you deserve to be acknowledged, and you also have the opportunity to acknowledge others. Take time to think about those around you who you normally just walk past. Take 2 seconds of your time to say thank you to that janitor who you always pass by at work or at school. Take time to help the needy for the sake of helping them, and not for popularity. Take time to say thank you to those serving you food at the cafeteria. Take the time to recognize people who do more for the community than any celebrity, philanthropist, or lawmaker. If we are recognizing people for what good deeds they do in front of the public, then we should take the time to acknowledge the people for what they do for the public.
Take the time to acknowledge someone who you know is feeling left out, and take the time to accept people for who they are. Invite, initiate, and ignite a culture that doesn't socially pressure others to the point where they will do anything to be recognized, like going on a mass shooting rampage.
Stay tuned, because there's definitely more sides to the issue here, and this side is only the top layer. The inner layer is too complex to have in this article, so I'll have to save it for another time.
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