Tuesday, October 23, 2007

relativity

am i the only one that is sick of celeb gossip about paris hilton? yes, she's filthy rich. yes, she plays bimbo in an incredibly intelligent scheme to sell the paris hilton brand in order to make even more money. and yeah, you can probably say she's spoilt.

hang on a second. she's spoilt? because she demands to be pampered? because she throws diva tantrums when she doesn't get what she wants? we're talking about a woman who grew up swimming in money, someone who is used to having her every whim and fancy entertained. she has never known poverty and, although i respect her for making sure she makes her own money instead of relying entirely on daddy's hotel empire, she will probably never have to earn a living the hard way.

so who are we to judge her as spoilt? if an affluent lifestyle is all she has ever known, it only makes sense for her to want to make sure it stays that way. if that means ordering only the best champagne and crying over a jail sentence because she can't imagine anything other than the soft down pillows on her bed, then no one should blame her for acting that way.

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when you said that the sacrifices i have to make are incomparable to the ones you had to make, i was furious.

how could you even say that? it's like comparing apples to tables! i didn't grow up the same way you did and i certainly will not make the mistakes choices you made. also, if have learned anything directly from you, it is to not swallow my anger and disappointments and not let my soul slowly rot inside while glorifying my actions as selfless and deserving of praise.

you were the one who gave me free rein to explore on my own. you were the one who trusted me to make my own judgments based on others' mistakes and my own experience. you are responsible for making sure that i will know no other life than the one i'm used to, the same way rick and kathy hilton are to blame for paris' spoilt ways.

and you tell me that the sacrifices i have to make are incomparable to yours? how would you know? are you in my shoes? why do you judge me so quickly? just because it seems so trivial to you doesn't make it any less unfair to me. will comparing result in a favourable end?

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i see no sense in comparing who has it worse than the other. so often we engage in a battle of "my life sucks more than yours" or "you think your results are bad wait till you hear mine", as if there is something to be proud of by being busier, unhappier, more wronged.

there isn't, and you're not going to earn more respect by being a martyr to your own woes.

this would be a much better place if we saw each other's problems as the problems that they are rather than immediately jump to our own conclusions as to how much weightage and attention somebody deserves.

a sacrifice is a sacrifice, no matter how big or small the amount is. to the person, it is still a sacrifice and it still cost something. so keep your judgments to yourself and be a little more sensitive. it still cost something, so don't scorn or dismiss it as insignificant.

lishun at 10:26 PM

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