11.30.2009

Social (adj.):

a1387 Designating a war fought between allies.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, in the 14th century social meant fighting between friends?

I'm a fairly social person--so I've been told. Sometimes I enjoy this socializing, and sometimes all I want is to curl up in a warm blanket with the sole company of a good book. Yet quite frankly, in all reality, when I have the choice between people or paper, I drop the books and run.
The reason I'm bringing this up is I've noticed I allow people to dictate my mood far too easily. For example, when I actively socialize with all the "right" people, I've had a "good" day; otherwise, I've inexplicably had a miserable one. Well, now I'm explaining. In spite of internal and external professions, I must really care what people think of me. Actually, I know I do. Consequently, I suppose I interpret social action as an invariable reflection of that thought--that judgment of who I am, what I'm capable of becoming, and how much I'm worth. Don't get me wrong, I don't need every person to smile and pointedly tell me "hi" just so I don't kill myself. I do have self worth, and I do understand this without social reminders. But I think it's normal to define one's self based on social acceptance. I don't want this to be so, but it is, and I succumb to social pressures every day. Why can't I just not care? Or should I? Do you think socializing with the masses is important? Should we care what the masses think? say? do?

1 comment:

Me said...

Yes, we should socialize and make friends, and influence people for the better.
I don't think it's a bad thing to care about what people think, say and do either. It those things that help us decide how close a friend we want to be with them.
I don't think that we should allow other's opinions of us make too big of an impact on what we do though. yes we should be considerate and nice, not wanting to upset anyone etc. But at the end of the day, we are who we are and you should only change because you want to, not because someone else thinks you should.