Love is a funny little word….

Just four letters with a world of opportunities and opinions about what love actually means. The love that is portrayed in movies makes the younger generation think it’s how love is meant to be. Today, the simplest acts of love are diminished because of social media… as if love never existed in the first place.

But if we look at our grandparents, we see a love built on fighting for one another, even when things are hard or emotional. Just because you care about one another and can’t see yourself without one another. It is something that is few and far between nowadays.

We crave attention from others, just to feel appreciated. In my eyes, it has fallen behind in this society; a lot of this stems from not being able to pour love and affection into ourselves. Something in my life right now that I am deeply struggling with.

All of what Makia was created for: self-love, self-worth, self-appreciation.

All of what was shown to me was that I wasn’t fully healed and okay. Looking at how I am personally, it all stems from the actions of others, from caring too much about how I am perceived and how I am treated, whether directly or indirectly.

This has pointed out that other people’s actions can alter the way I act and think about myself. Through countless hours of scrolling on social media, I compare myself to others and wish I could look the way influencers do. Wondering what it would be like to be perceived the way they are. Getting the attention they deserve.

But the question is, would I be happy?

See, that is something that no one will ever know: if they become someone else, will they suddenly be the happiest person alive? It is impossible to feel that way ever.

So why is it that so many of us are unhappy and wish for a different life?

The Complexity of Society

Society as we know it today is very different from what it was from the 1900s to the early 2000s. All of a sudden, technology has skyrocketed, social media has become a big thing, inflation has changed how we live, and even our beliefs have shifted.

During the last century, it was about working your way up a career ladder, having a house, a loving wife and kids. Now that has changed to building a business, going into corporate, working all hours of the day, being creative, and becoming one of the few who actually make it. Buy a house; maybe you will meet someone who actually wants love, and possibly kids.

There are so many uncertainties now and choices to be made that people can spiral into unhappiness.

All because there is too much noise… big flashes from billboards, the noise of people talking on phones and not actually to each other anymore. Life just moves too fast, and it is hard to get a grasp of where you actually lie within that.

Technology

Technology has changed the way we view the world, not only because we use it more in our daily routines, but also because it has changed our perspective as a whole. Nowadays, it is a lot less stop and smell the flowers and more like looking at those pretty flowers while I change the song I’m listening to and take a picture for the whole world to see. I wonder if it will get big likes and I will become famous!

Today, people have forgotten to slow down. Could this possibly be the cause of the rising mental health rates across the Western world? Because instead of appreciating where we are, the next thought is always about the future: ‘What will I do next?’ and, most of the time, it is thinking of doing something productive, only to be pulled back to that phone screen.

So many people today have a phone addiction. I have the habit of looking at my phone even when there is no need. Sometimes I doomscroll for hours on end and don’t get anything productive done with my day.

Social Media

Social media is a big factor in ruining our love for ourselves. I know that for me, this has been the biggest impact. The vast majority of the population is on social media to connect with friends, but they are also following countless celebrities and influencers.

Their job, or at least the image posted online, is to appear flawless.

But for young adults and teenagers, this can be detrimental because not only do they see a beautiful person, but they are also at a stage in life where they are trying to find out who they are and what they enjoy.

All of this is being taken away by social media, as people want to go global now and become someone they are not, but someone the world respects. So they become insecure, trying to be someone everyone else wants them to be. Pushing each and every day to be different and finally stopping in a paralysis…

Where the version of themselves they once were is gone.

The way society has changed has made it harder to simply be ourselves. All the rush of life, trying to be the next best thing, has ingrained a sense of insecurity in us all. Humans were made for a slow, predictable, loving life.

Who Are You When Nobody is Watching?

Who are we when nobody is watching our every move, following us on social media, trying to be someone we are not?

What do you actually enjoy?

This is something that can be hard to answer, as nowadays we have spent so long performing for social media and trying to fit into the construct society has created.

Who we really are is hidden away in the shadows, just waiting for us to find the courage to look behind the curtain and look at the parts of ourselves that maybe we don’t like but that are unique.

For me, finding what I enjoy has been one of the hardest things I have had to do so far. I am still trying to figure out who I am because of my injury, my identity changed overnight.

I didn’t have one…

So I went on social media and decided who to be, what to dress like, and how to act. And I still do that now; it is ingrained in me, and it feels like I am pretending to be someone I am not.

Self-Love

Self-love is something that is found over time. What you can see is that as we age, the more at peace we become with ourselves.

A deep knowing of who you are. A sense of peace that gives you confidence.

The one thing I admire the most about the older generation is the way they carry themselves with such strength and confidence.

But I do wonder… will we get there at some point? Will I become as confident in myself within the society we have built for ourselves?

One day, the end goal is acceptance: to be someone that maybe you don’t love but just accept, all of the flaws and all of the strengths. One thing I have noticed recently is that it is very easy to talk negatively about yourself. It is easy to tell yourself you aren’t confident in your abilities, but I was shown that all I need to do is look at the proof of what has been achieved in my life so far.

Love, Refined

Love is a funny little word….

Just four letters hold an entire world of meaning within relationships. The most important relationship is the one you have with yourself.

Throughout our lives, we will have many forms of relationships: family, friends, loved ones, colleagues. But just one will be deep-rooted: the relationship with oneself.

We have ourselves for life. So why not learn to accept it? No one can truly know how you are apart from yourself.

So why has society created so many possibilities and made it so hard for us to accept ourselves?

Perhaps being in love isn’t about being who society expects you to be, but loving the person you are right now and evolving into someone you accept.

Because after all, love is living a life you enjoy.

Remember, it all starts with self-love

-M