dont justify yourself

If you find yourself in an unfamiliar social setting, don't feel the need to justify your presence. I see this play out frequently, as if one needs to prove why they deserve to be where they are. Fate, destiny, GPS, a friend invited you, whatever. It doesn't really matter. You are where you are because you followed an infinitely complex decision tree. You don't really need to justify why you are where you are. You just are. Stop trying to justify why you deserve to be there.

I used to be terribly guilty of this. You existing and occupying that particular place in space and time should be justification enough. Unless you're trespassing, time jumping, or teleporting, you have every reason to be where you are, when you are. You don't have to explain yourself in the conventional sense. You really don't have anything to prove. You don't have to impress. You don't need validation. If someone asks, give them as simple of an explanation as possible. Don't overcomplicate this shit.

This is as much a journal entry as it is a blog post.

There aren't any qualifications for existing. We're all kind of ripped out of the void and plopped into consensus reality. No one chooses to be born, and you don't need to explain the role you serve to society in order to belong. We're all just kind of winging it. Anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to sell you shit. Relax.

Interactions become more fluid when you aren't putting on a pony show. I've found most people appreciate when you drop the act. People who are eager to gain your respect and admiration often come off as desperate, and in their desperation, lose track of how best to move a conversation forward. The better approach is to stay humble, and only hint at your reasons if prompted. Authenticity is key and, oddly enough, people will respect your approach. It accomplishes the same thing, with far less energy. It's exhausting for both parties to play a role that betrays who they really are. God, it's so tiresome. You can be the first to initiate genuine interaction, a kind of olive branch that reassures it's okay to let go. It's crazy to watch the tension in a person's body release when they feel comfortable. It's like they passed gas they've been clenching for too long.

When asked what you "do," respond with a hobby and see how the scenario plays out. It confuses people. It may seem childishly semantic, but you open up avenues that seem closed. If the conversation scrambles, that's okay. You got nothing to prove.