Why you should not be afraid to voice out your opinion

~1080 words

I have been feeling awkward these days. Like seriously I have.

To be honest, I never created this blog to attract attention or try to make myself a name.

I never intended to try gain fame. I never meant this blog to be read by my friends or people who surround me. It was my mistake perhaps for I share the posts on my social networking profiles where only contacts I interact the most with find me.

I never wanted to go to school the next day I just published a new post and have people ask me about the crush I got over or have them instantly telling things related to my posts as soon as they catch sight of me. I never thought that everything I posted just here would define myself in people's eyes. Somewhere down the line, I knew I was manipulating you all by not clarifying my points. Our Alter Ego is a blog where I present different faces of myself. I do not write things by presenting the whole of me. I try to isolate the different versions of myself before writing, trying to be extreme, subjective and irrational. In so doing I am fighting to discover what is there in me and create new faces of myself.

So, to find myself in tuition the next day and having people radically categorizing my whole and entire self as a sworn feminist, a stereotyped person and a radicalist..well... startles me- no, it doesn't hurt.

All together, it is surprising to see people who do not seem to understand that all of us live through confusion. All of us live in the moment. What you are in one instance may not be person you are the very next minute! Hence the personality one endorses at a particular moment changes the next.

Haven't you ever found yourself supporting your brother when he proposes to go dinner out- to the point of promising him your favourite teddy bear? BUT!! The minute he denounces you to your parents as to how you spent too much time watching T.V., hell breaks loose, nobody can stop you from murdering him. These are exactly those moments where you wished you never had a little brother and that you were an only child. And you go all out ranting with a friend on the phone. But then two days after you are like- ''Aww, my brother is the best thing that has ever happened to me so far. He shares his heart matters with me. He is the cutest thing ever. He likes to pull my leg, but that fines, this is what siblings are there for!''

Now, let us be honest, if you just happen to be present when I was irritated about the existence of my brother and never when I kind of valour and praise him on the second instance- then you would forever live with the fact that I hate my brother more than anything.

Basically, I do appreciate the fact of not judging another. But at times, it is restricted to: "Do not judge the girl who talks bad of others, she must be having a problem herself. Do not judge the child who has no good manners, he must not be having parents. Do not curse the reckless driver, he could be driving a woman in labour to the hospital."

On the contrary, I think it's high time we understand more about not judging a person.

We should stop judging a person for who they are in the momentary instance. For they change. They do. This is a never ending process.

Never judge the person who refuses to stand up against abused children in class or opposes abortion, for some day, he's perhaps gonna donate money for those same kids and perhaps accept abortion for a dear one.

What we all are a momentary truths. It's only for the moment.

What you live right now, defines only ''right now'', it doesn't define the future.

But it might surely influence it nonetheless.

But coming back to the point- this has been bugging me a lot lately.

I could not understand why people started to suddenly define me by whatever I wrote.

I'll tell you something, when we write those GP essays there's a lot of things that are not ourselves. Things that are not us. They do not come from us. At least not always. You write them despite all.

To be honest, I wanted this to be a blog about positive thoughts. But my mood changes. And so are going to be the genres of articles. But I'll try be sane in my approach.

What bugged me most was obviously the explanations that people in the real world wanted to have from me. They wanted to extend the conversation. Add to it. And I wonder why they never drop a word in the comment section. It's mostly meant for that you know? I brand this as ''slacktivism'' on your part or being too timid to voice out your opinions. Nothing is going to be a debate here. We are not here fighting for who is right or wrong, we are celebrating each others' point of views. Like I remember the one of the Existence of God, that I keep near to my heart for it was such an open conversation.

Why I started this blog you ask?

Truthfully, it was a stupid bet with my Dad.

See my Dad is the smartest guy I know. He's Mr Perfectionist.

We often have those heated debates at home about the political arena of our island. ( I debate with Dad and Mom only because I like to piss them off. It's the kind of relationship we've always maintained. Me being Jerry and them Tom. And they are the only persons with whom I might feel okay to debate with. Not with everyone- I know how to respect people on that matter. Not that I don't respect my parents, but they are the only people I've known all my life. They know my flaws, and I'm comfortable with that.)

Dad only has this one itch. He talks talks and talks but never in front of people. He is a talker not a doer. So he challenged me to voice out my ideals if I could when I complained about his passiveness despite such a great brain (and heart, I must add.)

Hence this blog.

That's the story behind Our Alter Ego. Fundamentally.

But that's just to encourage you to comment and tell how you feel about things. Yes, I don't like passive people. I'm mostly an energetic person. And people who dare speak out their thoughts confidently appeal to me. Not that I hate those who don't. But I had love to know more people. Know their thoughts, their experiences, the things they have to share.

Slacktivism or armchair ''activism'' is something which I don't champion unless I'm tired. But to come back on track. I encourage you to say whatever you want here. Even if it a curse.I did receive a lot-like in a lot, of curses on Yahoo Answers! Many of them made me tremble. They were shocking. So, I'm kind of immune to that after 3 years.

Just a little note- many of you reading this right now, often inbox me or message me privately about posts and your feelings. Or you just tell it to me when me meet. I actually encourage you to pour out your feelings here.

I know that a lot are afraid to let others know about how you feel about a particular thing. Or you are just to shy. Some just don't care. I love you all equally.

After this article, know that anything is welcomed from you.

Don't be afraid to have people judge your comments or be too afraid to speak out.

What we are right now, is not how we feel later. So it should be clear to all those people who constantly judge others that they are not really judging you.

They are judging one version of your grander self.

Dare to live in the moment now onwards! You'll startle your own self!

Don't forget, education is never about learning. It's always been about sharing.

You are the only one who needs to understand that. Once you do, the world can go ---- itself! So just do that. Keep at it! ;)

Above, I think that it's also because you lack time. But that's not to ask you to either comment here or not not to say anything at all. Merely encouraging you to engage in the conversation. With us, with yourself.

I remember that's how, I met my first Co-author. We had dived into a very passionate issue, and I liked how she was vivacious about the things she wanted to say. Thanks for giving this blog a sense. Without you, I might have dropped this idea long before.

But I would sincerely had dropped out were it not for readers, who revived everything. From my love to sharing ideas, my perspectives, to forming a communion with people. Thank you so much.

"Are we reading blog posts, commenting on them, and then going on with our day? Does what you read really mean anything to you? Did it spark something in you that may need to be changed? Was God prompting you to look at yourself, but you just pushed that out? Why waste your time reading the truth if you aren’t willing to change or to learn something? It’s like the verse that says, “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.” James 1:23-24"

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