Going With the Flow

So, there is this stream that everyone is following.

You can call it mainstream if you like. You know, the one that shows Transformers, Twilight and lots of Disney movies, where they play songs by Calvin Harris, Coldplay and Shakira, where you read Dan Brown, Shades of Grey and Harry Potter. It is the place where you say things like ‘Life is hard’ or ‘You gotta do what you gotta do’ or ‘Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do’ or ‘Come on, hold yourself together’ or even ‘What will the neighbors say?’ It is the place where you don’t cry or laugh out loud or kiss too much in public, where you don’t look through magazines without buying them, where you don’t put your shoes on a chair or a table, where you don’t say ‘fuck’, where you control your temper and dress appropriately. It is the place where you don’t worry about where your clothes are made, what your food is made of and who built your mobile phone. It is the place where you clap for people you don’t like, where you say ‘Happy Birthday’ and ‘Good Morning’ to people you don’t like and where you don’t tell people you don’t like them. It is the place where everything goes according to plan. It is a place of rules. You don’t question things here. You don’t speak up here. Here, you go and vote every couple of years, you go to church or at least pay your taxes for it, you got your one heterosexual partner, you watch the game and you eat your vegetables. And meat, you definitely eat meat.

There is comfort in going with the flow. You don’t have to think too much, which is nice. You know your place and everyone else’s place too. Sure, you’re stressed out sometimes. Work sucks but everyone’s work sucks, so it’s kinda okay. Same for school but that’s school, what do you expect? Money’s always short but that just means you have to work harder. You have to go on, there is only one direction.

But do you ever, sometimes in your heart of hearts, when you’re lying awake or staring at the monitor, do you ever think for yourself: Going with the flow is fine, but do I have to take just any bullshit that’s coming to me? Do I always have to keep smiling and keep up appearances, even if I don’t feel like it? Is there really only one way to go? What is normal, anyway? Is that it?

You know what you should do? You should ask those questions. You should speak up.