As we all know, social media is a perfect outlet for individuals to sound off. Whether it's posting their feelings, pictures of their food, that they're at the gym, or that they're "Having the BEST NIGHT EVER! #withmygirls #takethatexboyfriend #singlelady," we tend to feel obligated to justify these actions.
Trust me, I am guilty of all of these. To be honest, just the other day I posted this:
Reasons I do not feel bad about my accidental chocolate binge:
1. I wanted chocolate, and eating some isn't going to kill me.
2. I'm beautiful no matter what society thinks.
3. By the time I feel bad enough that I should go workout, all the "resolutioners" will be gone.
I totally justified my chocolate binge online for the whole world to see. Dumb.
My friend posted this awesome article titled, 18 Things Women Shouldn't Have To Justify. A phenomenal read, and completely changed my perspective.
In short, the article explains how women should not have to justify what they're eating or why they're eating it, why they're married or why not, why they want children or why not etc.
I believe this is something very valuable. As women, we continually justify our actions. I actually just told my boyfriend the other day that I cried at High School Musical 3 , and when he replied "...are you serious?" I went on to explain how, at the time, I was a hormonal teenager who was just about to graduate high school and I was feeling emotional. I sat there and justified it! But really, who cares?
Now, just as individually we should not justify our actions, we should not sit there and scrutinize other women for their actions. I know I am guilty of gossiping "Oh my gosh, did you see that so-and-so got ENGAGED?! They've only been together x amount of months!" Well, its none of my damn business, honestly. I have learned that it's better to let other people live their lives the way they want to. I will sit here and worry about all that stuff when I am ready, because if we're being honest here, I'm sure people look at me and say "Oh my gosh, why is she a double language minor? She does too much on campus. Oh my gosh what a perfectionist." We're all guilty of this, so maybe taking a moment to think about how we don't want other people to bud into our personal lives will allow us to cut the other girl some slack.
On the other hand here, I think it's absolutely ridiculous that men also have to deal with these kinds of situations. Guys should not have to justify why they cried at The Last Song, went to Yoga, or why they are getting married at 20-years-old. It all comes full circle.
So, next time you find yourself questioning someone's actions, male or female, or find yourself justifying your own actions, take a moment to remind yourself that you have the freedom to live your life the way YOU want to, and so does the other person.