The Glass Slipper That Wounds the Foot

The Glass Slipper That Wounds the Foot

Forcing yourself to stand level with those who started far ahead of you, it feels like wearing an undersized glass slipper. It's beautiful from the outside, sparkling, stunning, but secretly your feet are bleeding inside.

There are two possibilities that will happen when you insist on doing this.

First, it becomes your fuel. That discomfort makes you run faster. You work twice as hard, study three times more diligently, and endure hunger and lack of sleep just to be worthy of sitting at the same table as them. You push yourself to the absolute limit because you believe: "One day, this lifestyle will no longer be a costume, but my real skin." That is ambition. That is struggle. And that is perfectly valid.

However, there is a second possibility, and this is what most often slowly kills us: Soul Exhaustion. You are tired not because of the work, but because of the acting.

You are tired of laughing at jokes you don't understand just to look "in sync." You are tired of buying coffee that costs the equivalent of your daily meal money just for one Instagram story. You are tired of holding your breath, hiding your origin, and burying your simple true self, just so you won't be looked down upon by people who—honestly—don't even care if you die tomorrow.

And the saddest part of this second scenario is a great irony: The harder you try to be accepted by others, the more you lose comfort with yourself.

You might succeed in entering that circle. You might be invited to their parties. But pay attention to how it feels when you return to your cramped boarding room, take off all those expensive attributes, and look in the mirror.

Who is that person in the mirror? Why is their gaze so unfamiliar and tired?

You realize that your "upper-level" friends don't like you. They like the fake version you desperately created. If they knew your actual bank balance, or your complicated family problems, would they still sit next to you?

If the answer is no, then you are building a castle on sand.

Stop tormenting yourself for unrealistic standards. There's no point in looking "amazing" in the eyes of others if your own heart is "dry."

Being accepted for who you are by a simple but genuine environment is much more comforting than being conditionally accepted by a luxurious environment full of falsity.

Remember, life is meant to be enjoyed, not to be competed in on a stage play where the audience isn't even truly watching you. Find a place where you don't have to hold your breath just to feel valuable.