Sunday, August 2, 2009

People Watching

People watching is by far one of the most entertaining activities this world has to offer- yeah, that probably makes me sound like a creeper. I'm not doing it for kicks, people are generally intriguing to me. The way that the people around me in the world act and react to the situations they are in is fascinating. Certain actions seem learned or conditioned, while others seem innate and programmed. For instance, lounging poolside today, I noted the dating and competition rituals of various other pool visitors. There was a set of three girls, who strutted in, clearly feigning confidence. They sheepishly wandered around, sticking close together as if they were glue invisibly at their stiffly carried shoulders. Acting as if they were disinterested in the pool in its entirety, and laughing amongst themselves while keenly watching the world around them to see if they were being noticed. They continued this for some time as I lounged, until they spotted two girls of roughly the same age carelessly and confidently playing in the pool. Upon seeing this competition, they moved overtly to the pool trying to out-show the other girls. When their competition went unaware of their antics, they left the pool entirely.

This whole parade seemed nonsensical to me. Had I been in this situation- which I wouldn't have been, they were acting ridiculous- I would have gone and talked to the other girls, asked to join their game. Women seem to be conditioned to compete with each other, and I simply don't want to play that game. What's the point? I can be myself happily without cutting down others in the process, it seems counter-productive. Yet the game continues, as it has for years. This girl has this, I don't have this, I want this; whether this is a boyfriend, a pretty dress, great legs, or a fantastic pair of stilettos, rather than being happy with what they have, women seem always to want something different. At least in America, women don't seem to go out of their way to compliment each other. Every other woman is competition, a threat, even friends are a threat. It doesn't make sense to me. People are people, people will do what they do, people have what they have. I don't particularly care. I have what I have and if a man isn't attracted to it over what another has, then it's not going to work out anyway. Rather than focusing on the things that they have, a lot of women are worried about what everyone else has, and what everyone else is thinking about what they have. They cut each other down to eliminate the threat. Men hit each other, women give each other eating disorders. It's a vicious game. They worry constantly about what both men and women think of them. The irony of worrying about what people think about you all the time is that they are probably thinking about what everyone else thinks about them, not about you. So why compete? Why play that game? Why worry?

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