By Nova Pierce
Though we are blessed enough to live in the age of information, it appears that the only thing we have gained is more ignorance and enhanced our confidence in our arrogance. We are quick to claim the knowledge that is at our fingertips as an extension of ourselves. We manipulate the information, contorting it in order to further support our arguments. The issue with being in the age of information is that not all information is valid, reliable, and worthy of our attention; this leads to us having to pick and choose what to care about and what to discard. The internet is now not only filled with scientific knowledge and philosophical debate, but also now riddled with the opinions and thoughts of virtually every individual who has access to the internet. How, then, I wonder, do we decipher true wisdom from the noise of others?
As I look around the world, I see individuals often swayed by the whims of others. Identity crisis settling in amongst the comments of strangers and our support groups; doubts of our self-worth; misplacement of our inherent value via the terms of money and objects; and countless other tragic cognitive distortions plague our minds. Thus, I wonder about our ability to cope with the whiplash of societal norms. I wonder how being constantly plugged into the voices of millions of other people drowns out the voice inside. How many of us have lost the ability to march to our own tune? To stay within the rhythm of the band– the flow of society, without giving up our uniqueness. I for one, struggled with this greatly.
I remember entering middle school and determining with great conviction that I would be able to tap into each social group. That I would become a social butterfly, accepted by all. Now I don’t know why we label this in terms of a butterfly. When I view butterflies, I see metamorphosis. I see freedom. I see possibilities. Yet in this lane of “social butterfly,” all I felt was cold-scaly regret. But this is to be expected, after all, I was no butterfly, I was merely a chameleon hiding amongst the crowd. Mimicking whatever colors– painting a mirage so that I could be accepted by the various groups. Now the thing about mirages is that while they are indeed delusions, they are still rooted in the concrete realm. I embellished myself, tweaking portions of my personality so that a one-size-fits-all Nova P. was born. I wish fewer of us did this, we murder our- selves to fit in then spend the rest of our days searching for the pieces in a terrain no longer recognizable.
Thus I call onto you, the reader, in the age of information, don’t lose sight of yourself, of your values, of your truth. Don’t get swept in the tides of societal norms because they are merely just fads and are constantly ever-changing so you will never fit the bill. I feel as though, all too often, the voices that need to be heard most, are stifled by their creator before they even have the chance to breathe. Give life to the inner you, rise to your tune, gather your instrument, and strut to your newly discovered self as you join the rhythm of society and enter the international orchestra.
Self-defined financial enthusiast, traveler, and lover of the written arts, Nova Pierce, is an MSW student with a BA in psychology with over three years of working experience in mental healthcare. She’s enamored with topics on spirituality, social justice, and the overall human experience.
