School Oppression

Schools oppression.

We have lived through history, we have learnt the dates and the names and yet we fail to identify the very thing that we’ve learnt about countless times. It surrounds us every single day and there are no recordings of it, there are no dates or names to recall to avoid this. Oppression. More specifically, oppression subjected by an entire system that reaches every single country – irrespective of your financial status, your race or your gender.

We are enforced into a system of oppression from the day we can talk. Ironic, isn’t it, that once our brains start developing, we are immediately shoved into a school – where we become nothing but barcodes. A product that is mass produced specific to a certain formula. We are trained, programmed and influenced from the time we are at our most influential ages. We are taught to line up, take stance and greet. We are a military troop dressed in uniform, marching into classes in form – and god forbid you are one step out of line. We are taught to raise our hands to speak, and only once we are acknowledged can we utter a word. Yet, they wonder why we can’t find our voices unless we’re shown attention. There are no hands to raise when issues arise, because the only time hands are raised are when there are signs of protest or hands in the form of fists. Yet, we wonder why we are so confused as we grow up. Our names are lost in the alphabet, while our identity is nothing but an order. Bells shrill every half hour, a ringing etching ever so slowly into our brains – conditioning us to “normality”. A sound that is stamped into our heads for twelve years. A simple procedure to program our routine. We learn about Hitler and Napoleon in the form of people, but how can we identify something so cruel when we’re so focused on people, and not a system. Our light bulbs are dimmed to match the rest of the people in the room – how symbolic that we end off our last day of schooling with a cap on our heads, indicating the end of the process of our dulling. Our barcodes become another number, one in an ocean of barcodes.

Somewhere along the line we become prisoners. Our every move is watched by cameras at every corner monitoring our behavior. The bells start sounding more like sirens and the cameras start glaring. Wardens usher us to our next chore, taking us to write a test to see whether we’re improving or not. Marking their production process based on exams, seeing where our progress lies. Until finally, we are no longer juveniles in our own skin, and we are expected to find our way in the world as if we haven’t been locked away for twelve years, but damn does freedom feel good.

They predict a future of robots, and I’ve always thought “how terrifying”. The thought of something with a program so advanced, yet mechanized that it may revolt, is horrifying. “The future is nearer than we think”, they say. They’re not wrong, you know. We are programs of mechanization, we are robotized. We are also fully capable of revolt and destruction.

LETS TALK ABOUT SEXISM

Lets talk about sexism.

It astonishes me, first of all, how often the word is thrown around carelessly which takes away the seriousness of the topic. Today, we need to start becoming conscious of how predominant it is in our every day lives.

Today, I read an article about how a tennis player, Alize Cornet, was punished for taking her shirt off at the US Open. This both angers and saddens me at the same time. Understandably, if it is a rule, it should not be broken. However, when a rule supposedly does not apply to men, that is a double standard. I  have seen Nadal take his shirt off numerous times, and yet there has never been a single complaint? Similarly, Djokovic sat shirtless during his break as well. It worries me that something so simple causes such an uproar. She clearly felt discomfort – which would have affected her game. Which brings me to the fact that Serena Williams was banned from wearing her catsuit that was specifically made for her by Nike as a support for her in the case of a health issue.

Women are being so openly victimized by sexism and no one is even batting an eye. It concerns me that women are being so restricted as to what we can do and how we can do it. It has been like this for centuries – how has the conversation not increased? How has this not changed? It happens everywhere. Not only in sports, but sports sure is exposing it to a larger audience. I have heard countless stories whereby women send emails to clients and the message is received loud and clear with respect. The second this same woman is on a phone call or face to face with the same client, her words slip through the air unheard because there is a realization as to what gender she is. As women, we are a force to reckoned with, and I think people are realizing that more now than ever. That is why sexism exists. Our strength is far beyond what anyone can even begin to comprehend. We are endless, we are powerful, we are filled with galaxies and planets with storms and oceans inside of us. That, that is why they will not give us a chance to coexist equally – because they are afraid that we might flood this world with power. We are monumental creations and sexism will not tie our arms and make us submissive, it will only provoke the elements that are waging war inside of us.

We can not stay silent forever, especially not in the face of inequality and double standards.

How I really found my self awareness.

To be completely honest, there are no quick hacks to self love and self awareness. There are no tricks and tips, there are no shortcuts and there aren’t necessarily any steps to take. It’s a persons own personal journey.

When I left off my previous blog with only the information about the paper with your written strengths and weaknesses, it’s because what you do with that paper is your first step to finding yourself. If your initial instinct is that the paper with writing on it is useless – throw it away. If you feel you don’t know what to do after you’ve written down those strengths – just hold on. Circle the ones you feel strongly about. Sit down with yourself and acknowledge your strengths. At the same time, acknowledge that you’re allowed to have weaknesses. Come back to it when you have a clearer head.

One of the most important things we do as humans, is regard peoples opinions of us as a truth. We need to stop caring what people think about us and finally form our own opinions. How can we understand our own voice when we have a million other voices stuck in our heads. Block out the noise and focus on what you love, what you like to wear, what you like to do and just disregard any fear of what people might think. It’s terrifying and it seems impossible, I know. Sometimes having acceptance in this world is the most comforting thing in the world. But when you’re fifty and lost, it’s probably not the most comfortable place to be in. Breathe. Take the leap of faith and do something, anything that you would never do in the fear of what others think. There has to be one thing. The moment you stop caring about the white noise, you can focus on the real music. Loving yourself starts when you love what other people deem as faults.

Keep in mind that none of this is an overnight thing. That’s why it is such a difficult journey, but just push through it. Work at yourself every single day of the week and every single second of the day. It is so incredibly important. People don’t understand the power behind knowing yourself and loving life as a result of it. It is the most extraordinary sensation.

THE JOURNEY TO SELF AWARENESS.

THE JOURNEY TO SELF AWARENESS.

In recent months, I noticed that my life was not where I wanted it to be. I am only eighteen and I was so lost, I was trying to be so many different people, and none of them were me. How is it possible for someone so young, to be so lost?

In a world where we are surrounded by so many people that are lost, from such a young age – we should question why that is. Even more concerning, people at the age of fifty have no idea who they are. Is it our lifestyles? Is it the media? Is it expectations? The number one thing I believe it to be is ourselves.

We all have this preconceived idea of what we want to be and what we want to do because it has either been conditioned into us or it is what our parents told us to do. We are surrounded by so many people that we hear what sounds like the “coolest” idea and we stick with that. We watch a movie, or a show and we think “I’ll do that”. What we are doing to ourselves is so incredibly harmful. I know because I was there, and I felt stuck for the longest time. I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do, and to some extent, I did – but it wasn’t realistic. I think so many people are so out of touch with reality, it is terrifying. Which brings me to the question; why are we so out of touch? It is so simple, yet no one can find the answer. We have absolutely no idea who the hell we are. We really do not understand who we are. We mask our weaknesses with synthetic faces and we ignore our talents because of the opinions of others. When I came to the realization that I had no idea who I was, it terrified me. I could have easily pushed that reality aside and pretended that I had my whole life ahead of me with clear sight, but that would have pushed me back another thirty-two years and at fifty I would have landed up right back to where I was a couple months ago.

Where do you go when you realize you are lost? I had no idea either. So, I did what made the most sense. I figured that since I did not know who I was, I would start with getting to know myself. Who cares if it sounds bizarre, or pointless? An incredible thing happens when you write down in pen and paper, in full honesty, what exactly your strengths and weaknesses were. The strengths were surprisingly hard. I was so self-critical that I didn’t quite see anything as a strength, so I started with my talents, worked my way through to what I found came at ease to me and I had a solid list of what I felt I was good at. Then, the real hard part came. My weaknesses. I couldn’t lie to myself because that would defeat the point, so I was brutally honest. The most difficult thing I had ever done was stare at that paper filled with my weaknesses.When your weaknesses are staring you dead in the eye, a lot of realization happens. I soon realized that masking those weaknesses wouldn’t make them any easier, so instead I accepted them. I came to realize that I am human, and I don’t have to be great at everything. I had some strengths that only a select few had, and that’s life. We have to accept what we are not good at, that – that is the absolute key to starting to know and accept yourself.

Gender Bender

The infamous gender bender day.

Firstly, for anyone who doesn’t know what a “gender bender” day is, it’s a day where the boys and girls, on their last day of school, swap uniforms. The boys wear skirts and the girls wear pants.

Upon observation, the guys were immediately uncomfortable, constantly weary of their exposure and felt immediate vulnerability – It then got me thinking. As girls, from a young age, we are forced to wear skirts as part of the uniform – irrespective of whether we are comfortable or not. The feeling of vulnerability is somewhat always etched beneath our skin from the moment we are forced to wear a skirt as part of uniform. We are conditioned to the fact that as girls “we are meant to dress a certain way and present ourselves a certain way”. Yet, when our legs are sexualized and our self-value lies on the length of a skirt, they wonder why we hold such low self-esteem. It is a fascinating thing to watch the girls cat call the boys, mutter offensive remarks and sexualize them as a joke.

It leads me to question whether we are conditioned in such a way that we see vulnerability as a weakness or an excuse to degrade another person, or, is it the fact that as women we are so subjected to receiving this kind of behavior, that it is almost second nature to dish out the same treatment we are given? It also bears the question of whether or not this is how sexism arises. Does our constant vulnerability give off the message that we are inferior? Does this apparent inferiority ingrain into the subconscious mind and give the indication that men are superior? Although these are presumptuous questions, they may hold some unknown truths. A skirt is something so simple that is a part of a woman’s life, but when the roles are reversed it is a remarkable table turn.

The most shocking thing to me was the comments. The most common ones being; “I now understand why you girls are always uncomfortable.”, and “I know why you feel so vulnerable now”. A simple thing happened. The males had to physically put themselves in our shoes to understand what exactly it felt like to be a girl. It took the literal experience to get them to understand the reality of our every day life, even if it was just a glimpse. Maybe this sheds some light to the fact that we should become more aware of the simplistic things that we are “expected” or “forced” to do as women from the words “it’s a girl”.