It confuses me what society defines as success. With the explosion of social media, it’s been easy to study people’s behavior; what they do on a daily basis, what they like (literally), what inspires them, what they aim to be. And I can’t help but notice that society sees engagements, weddings, and births as a grandiose triumph. They really dig that shit.
I’ve witnessed just about enough Facebook engagement celebrations in the course of just one week. The funniest thing is everyone seems to go gaga over engagements and weddings, as if they were the ultimate achievement. The ring, the wedding plans… People are interested in finding out about the details — how the man proposed, the romance behind the story, blah, blah, blah…
OK, that’s fine, if that’s what makes them happy, right? If a friend got engaged and she or he is happy, then I’m genuinely happy for them! But is it really an accomplishment worth of so many congratulations and praise? Do girls still dream of promise-rings and a married life these days? Shit…
Well, guess what? Anyone can have a family (without digging too deep into everyone’s reproductive ability). We’re all born with a reproductive system. Can anyone write a book, for instance? Not all of us are born with the passion, motivation, drive, and the self-discipline it takes to write a book. So, see, there’s the first challenge.
I promise you that if I (highly doubtful) ever got engaged or got married, my family would throw the party of the millennium. But I write a book, and no one gives a shit. Perhaps that line is a bit exaggerated — some people care. But, it’s true, predicted life events such as weddings and births seem to have seniority over a, say, book-launch announcement. To me, it makes little sense.
And by the way, I wrote a book. That’s what this whole rant is about. 🙂 I’ve written and published a couple of stories, actually, but this book, Flat-Chested Señorita: Living Small in Large America (which title I finally decided on last night) would be my biggest one so far and a story I feel passionate about. When I publish it, I expect my family and friends to see it as a birth — if that’s what’s going to take to get them to go to my launch party. Marcia gave birth to a book! Once I have a book cover and the final cuts and edits are done, it’ll be on its way. Yay! More details on it later…
(You might want to read this Jezebel article for a laugh: Okay, Who Let ‘Engagement Season’ Become a Thing?)
