Harsh Realities

I'm going to jump right into this post. People surprise me. They have always surprised me. Mostly they're pleasant surprises, but many-a-time I've come across someone who's surprised me in the negative. Recently, for some reason, there seeems to have been an influx in this. At least three people whom I thought I knew, have surprised me in the negative. Whether it is someone I've known a long while suddenly changing their colours, or someone I've known a short while showing their true colours; it's at times like these that you realise life isn't as peachy as you've perhaps been brought up to believe. The harsh realities of people hit you hard. Not because I don't like reality - far from! It's because you think you know someone, for however long you've known them, and they come out and do something so unexpected, so out of the blue, that it shocks you. Shocks you into changing your viewpoint about them, about the world...about life. That doesn't mean you judge; it just means you look at them in a different light, behave differently around them, knowing what you know, believing what you've seen. Of course it hurts when you realise people aren't who you thought they were. It hurts even more when you care about them. And you find yourself fuming under your breath, biting your tongue, or sitting there, exuding silent fury, but not being able to say anything, to avoid confrontation.

 

Life is harsh. I learnt that the hard way, having been protected and mollycoddled for most of my childhood. Yet being bullied toughened me up; more than people believe it did. So when something like this happens, I'm prepared for it. Prepared to face the harsh realities of life, of people. What I find I'm not prepared for, no matter how hard I try, is how much it hurts. Every single time.