as small as a world and as large as alone, lichgem: When I was a teenager I could never...

2:39pm June 24, 2014

When I was a teenager I could never leave the house without a jacket because of my cutting scars… and the people in my life, my mom, my dad’s girlfriend, my dad, all tried to convince me to do it anyway, saying ‘no one will care,’ etc, etc.

I really hate it when people try to make you do something, and they think they’re being encouraging, but really they’re ignoring everything about you: your experiences in the past, your feelings about a situation, and also the reality that just because THEY know you well and aren’t bothered by your scars, doesn’t mean strangers are going to be the same.

I’ve had a kid in middle school look at my arms and go, “What, are you suicidal, or something?” Grinning like it was a big fucking joke.

And when I was working at the daycare, one of the kids had a big sister who had cutting scars, and after she left my co-workers said, “Gross.”

People do this so much and I wish they’d stop: They want any problem you might be having to go away, so they pressure you with crappy advice that’s more likely to hurt you than help you, and they don’t care about the reality of the situation. And if you say ‘no, that doesn’t help’ they get all angry at you for not ‘wanting a solution,’ instead of realizing their idea of a solution is bullshit.