The Unexplainable

You want to know something I find unexplainable?

The saddest people tell the best jokes,

People with unconventional body types have the best styles,

The loudest people are often the best listeners,

People who have suffered the most give the best advice – 

Hold on.

It’s almost like

The boxes that society has built to contain ‘individualism’

Never actually fit anyone.

It’s almost like

Humans are conditioned to see each other as one-dimensional characters

To make you believe you are the only one who thinks the way you do

To make you think you are the most important person in your story

When it’s truly the people around you that impact who you are the most.

It’s almost like

We cannot be described by a single trope.

‘Pretty’ but also ‘Adrenaline Junkie’

‘Sporty’ but also ‘Movie Buff’

‘Artist’ but also ‘Maths Nerd’

And I think the only reason that I find this unexplainable

Is because it’s… scary.

I’ve always been taught “First impressions matter most,” or “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover (but only because I did first),” and “Don’t be like her,” but “He looks nice,” yet “Don’t end up like that,”

If we can’t trust ourselves to judge other people correctly,

What does that say about how others see us?

Paranoid and indecisive and weird?

Quiet or rude or unconfrontational?

Unproblematic but judgy but docile?

None of these words click cleanly…

Though they can all be used here.

Almost like

We cannot be described by a single trope.

Oh. 

Every human has multiple sides, faces, personalities.

Every human expects a different thing from other humans.

Every human has a different perspective.

So maybe

Just maybe

We should spend less time folding boxes to fit people that don’t exist

And more time appreciating the unexplainable in each other?

Evie Taylor, Year 10