You have done it again.
Expecting much from life, but life smirked at your face and then turned its back on you, ignoring your request.
Maybe it is human nature to expect the best from life, or perhaps it’s the problem that comes with watching movies and reading books.
Movies have created this scenery that make us believe in happy endings. No matter how fierce or dangerous the situation is, the end of it comes with this resolution where everything is almost perfect. The man finally gets his dream girl, the wicked witch finally dies, and they get their kingdom and crown. Simply put, they live happily ever after. So, when a movie or book does not go this way and doesn’t end with our happy expectations, we tag it as tragic and heart-wrenching, and we hope that it doesn’t happen to us, but... that itself is life.
Always bumpy.
Though we hate this truth but there is no happy ending; only happy moments. Most movies end with a wedding as the last scene to depict that life remains happy; but no. In reality, after the wedding, there comes struggles in different forms – of being compatible with your partner, children, and even with relatives. Some movies end with the lead actor getting his/ her dream job but as you know, this does not guarantee happiness forever.
Don’t get me wrong, happiness exists, but even in it, lies traces and lines of struggles that we so melodramatically want to bury and forget.
We see ourselves as the main character in a movie, and as the main character, everything just have to fall in place for us. We forget so soon that 3 years which can take 3 minutes in a movie is actually 3 years – 1, 2, 3 longgggg years.
Sasha, why are trying to kill my confidence today?
No, you are missing the point. It’s human nature to have high expectations from life; I’m even part of those who would preach “dream big” and the rest. However, life doesn’t care about your expectations; it just serves its meal and you are forced to take it. No one is telling you to lower your expectations, but it’s important to be prepared for life’s blow because there’s this satisfaction and peace that comes with being ready for the worst. It is important to balance the equation: have a life plan but be ready if it doesn’t work out, then instead of crying your heart out, you move to plan B. Trust me, it’s more painful when you are not ready for the slap. Truly, Antonio Banderas was right by saying:
Expectation is the mother of all frustration.
I love it when people take screenshot of our WhatsApp chat and post it on their status. I love it not because it makes me feel funny or relevant in their life - no, not for any of these reasons. I love it because it reminds me that I’m not the main character in the world, but only in my own story and only when it is told from my perspective. And just like the movie’s director have little care for the side characters, so as life has for you and me. The side characters are only noticed when they play their role well, not when they give up. Exactly! This serves as a humble reminder that life is a battlefield, you just have to keep fighting.
I love how you write about reality. It’s as real as it goes. You are a beautiful writer.