I once had a sweet friend, let’s call her Natalie. She was full of life and kind to the core, but then she changed and became this person no one wanted to be around. I often wondered why she changed. Life did deal her some rough hands, but she seemed to have handled it well and was the voice of reasoning for her family during these times.
I never really got it, I figured she wasn’t one to show emotions or express how she felt, thus, I never really paid attention. It didn’t matter that I had seen similar situations narrated on Instagram, I just figured people behaved differently. So, it was surprising that a line from a movie changed it all.
On a random day, I decided to de-stress by watching a movie on Netflix, and as is a usual practice, I spent over 30 minutes trying to make up my mind on which movie to watch. To bring myself out of this endless cycle, I settled for a film called: No Strings Attached. (This was after I checked its’ review on Rotten Tomatoes’ and was somewhat satisfied.)
Quick summary, it was about two individuals who were averse to commitment and decided to have a commitment-free “situationship.” Along the line, the guy began to have real feelings for the girl, and the rest of the romantic blah blah blah followed suit. It was later revealed that she was averse to commitment because she never came to terms with her dads’ death by trying to be strong for everyone, which basically made her cold. During a candid conversation with her mum which addressed her attitude, her mum said, “it’s okay to cry and not be strong for all of us. Be Hurt, The World Can Take It.”
The quote stood out to me so and I tried to make sense of it-maybe it’s because I would have needed to hear that at an earlier time of my life, or it basically lets me know that I am human after all. Perhaps, it’s because the world is going through uncertain times with the pandemic and things are not normal… yes, definitely that. So, at various times during the pandemic when I felt scared or unsure about what the future holds, I did not bottle it up like I am programmed to act, I spoke to someone about my fears or just prayed. Bottom line is, that quote came at the right time and I am sending it forth to you too, it’s okay, to be hurt and express it, it frees you and lets you live.
