Be real.

Everyday, thousands of children, teenagers, men, women, and even elderly try to become this thing that is impossible, yet has taken over our minds. A thing that is defined by humanity, but can never actually be obtained. Something that causes many people to actually take their own life. Perfection. We live in communities where people feel endless amounts of pressure to always appear perfectly happy, perfectly functional, and perfectly figured.  Humanity strives for this thing we call ' Perfect'.  (Google definition)  Per-fect Adjective: "Having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be. Flawless." Verb: "Make (something) completely free from faults or defects, or as close to such a condition as possible.   " What is not realized, is that this thing we call "Perfection" is NOT EVEN REAL. As we go on with our daily lives, we look around and see happy people, smiling faces, joyful couples, people laughing and talking.. But we really don't see what is beyond that. Nobody wants to be an open book. And no one ever is. Many people will not admit it,  but they do not like themselves  and  internally they are deteriorating, feeling worthless, and full of hatred toward their own body and person in general. This happens, and  so they try to create another person, they put on a mask,  and they hide behind this other personality. They are living a lie and saying things are going good, that they are enjoying life, and on the outside they look happy... Then you have people who feel the need to fit in, so they are afraid to truly be themselves out of fear of what other people might say. This is what this word "Perfect" does to us. In this current day  in our competitive world, many people feel that they will be looked upon as weak if they show vulnerability or emotion. In some cases, people wear masks because they want to appear confident and they want to look like they know what they are doing. They want to appear like a perfect person. If you look at movies, magazines, billboards.. there is a pressure to be perfect everywhere we go.  You may look over at this beautiful girl with loving parents, she's smart, bubbly, and she seems like she has it all going for her.  What you may not know is that behind the mask that is put up she is feeling lost and alone, she self harms because she feels this big need to be perfect for her parents( Who love her as is)  and society.  She doesn't know how to take her feelings out otherwise and strives to be the best. Her parents fight all the time behind locked doors thinking she does not hear.  She is feeling hopeless and has thoughts of  "What if I just disappeared... Would anyone care?" At school people bully her and  make fun of her  because they're jealous of her life because they think it's.. well,  'Perfect'. As for her parents, they also have a pressure to be perfect.  They think their children don't hear them fight at night, they act happy, but inside they feel alone and torn apart because of work, finances, and the stress that they might be getting older and their children are growing up so fast. They hide the pain from the children because.. Oh? They don't want them to think they don't have it all, that they are just  flawless parents. They could never imagine that their child has done something wrong.  The next door neighbors seem like the happiest couple,but are they really? The son sits in his room or goes out with friends, only to get away from  his parents because he feels since they are 'perfect' he has to be as well. What he does not realize is they only want him to do well in life, but he feels like everything he does is wrong in their eyes.All he tries to do is the right thing,but it never feels like he has his parents' approval.  This word 'perfect' infects the minds of the girls who strive to look like the women in the magazines. Skinny, perfect hair, revealing themselves to the world. But what they don't realize is they are also not perfect, they are stressed and pressured into things. They honestly don't want to show off their bodies, but it's like they feel it's all they have. Their pictures are edited and not showing their real self.. but they have to look flawless for their fans because they wouldn't want them knowing they aren't 'perfect'. We don't see the young girls who starve themselves because someone at school called them 'fat', someone is pushing them down and making them feel low,  and they feel like they will never be good enough. Like they will never be able to look pretty like the other girls in their class. The man behind the mask only can look at his past and how he has made so many mistakes ....and what if people were to find out? There is the news that is not revealed because they don't want to worry other countries, when it's reality. The wars, the fallen soldiers, the starving children, the hurting people, the burnt buildings  the anger and hatred people show towards each other, and a world full of pain that is covered by this mask and pressure of everything. The things that are beyond what the eye can see.  That boy, girl, man ,  and woman  who have taken their own lives because they felt it was their only... and LAST thing to get away from this world.. as if they felt like they could never live up to the standards of society, as if it was the only way to get away from these standards we try to live up to..  this 'Perfection'. But what is not always known is that there is a way out, and not in that way. There is ALWAYS hope. There is always someone to turn to whether we realize it or not.. and although there is a pressure to live up to society's standards, we don't have to put on this mask. People hide behind different personalities, they hide their true selves. But ya know, we all make mistakes, screw up things in life; we are stressed, hurt, feeling alone, broken and bent.. but it's not over.   we just have to be real. You aren't alone in life. You aren't the only one who feels worthless. You aren't the only one who feels a hatred towards your exterior and  working on learning to love yourself. You aren't the only one who cries at night because of the pressures of life. You aren't the only one who can't afford the costs of life. You aren't the only one who has lost a job due to injuries and feeling broken. You aren't the only one who stresses about school, work, and relationships. You aren't the only one who feels like they are not loved. You aren't the only one who has no clue what to do with their future. You aren't the only one who feels trapped, alone, and like there's no one to tell things to or go to. You aren't the only one who questions, doubts, and hurts. You aren't alone in life. Just be real. Look around at the beauty in life realize that people do care, we just have to open up first and let our true self out. We need to know that other people DO struggle, but it is not always shown.  We need to know that perfection is not real and we need to forget that,throw it out the window, and be true to who we are. ; Learn from mistakes, grow, pick ourselves up when we fall, and look around at all the beautiful people that truly do love us and care that we are in fact.. alive. God is the only one who can be perfect, so screw  trying to be flawless and full of perfection, but be real. Be you.