Let's Get Cynical

So many of us woke up today with the same old smirk and a witty, sarcastic comment just waiting to accompany it. No, we're not mad. We're actually okay, but wait a minute...maybe we're not? I feel like so many people will have solidarity in the fact that we as human beings are a jaded bunch. I don't want to generalize all people, because to be honest, I know some who are actually chipper before they've had their morning coffee.

So who did this to us? There's the common story of the girl who got dumped by her boyfriend who "just can't be in a relationship right now", only to later find that he is getting engaged to Betty, whom he's only known for a total of about six weeks. The guy who got let go from his job of ten years, because there just wasn't enough money in the budget this year to take care of him. There's the tragedy of parents losing their only child in a freak accident, so close to the holidays. Whatever the story may be, we've all got one and it's our one-way ticket to the land of snarkiness and cynicsm.

Personally, I don't find sarcasm to be a fault. I get that it can be hard to detect, especially if the person doing the detecting is slightly gullible. I have fallen victim to these deceptive charms, myself. I'm not proud to say it, but it is the truth. Likewise, I tend to be the perpitrator of dry humor. Really though, I just end up being extremely awkward, and forcing those around me to do the same in the process. Ultimately, I think that sarcasm is only a tiny by-product of society's distrust of human nature.

When something tragic happens to a person (and tragedy is subjective, defined by an individual's personal experience) it's almost as if a little bit of them fades away. This isn't to say that part of one's self is completely gone, but maybe that it's been dulled or hidden for a while. That could afford them time to grieve, time to think, time to project. From my own personal experience, I've found that the more negative things that occur, the harder it is to just "bounce back" and return to your former self. It gets tougher to believe that things can and will in fact be okay, regardless of if you know that they actually will or not. It may even seem easier to just blame everything on everyone else, and grovel in self-pity because your life is so fucked up.

The one thing to hold onto is the fact that you aren't alone. In fact, you're just a pebble among other pebbles in this big rock quarry called life. We fight different battles, yet still can relate because: emotion. Giving up and throwing in the towel always seem like the easiest options, and that's because they are. It is so much harder to tell yourself that you are going to have a good day, when all you want to do is bury yourself underneath your covers for the rest of your life and cry. The latter would be the simpler "solution".

We all need time to wallow in our bed sheets and throw pity parties for ourselves. But then, we also need to dust ourselves off in due time, and for lack of a better phrase: get over it. So for many like myself, adopting a defense mechanism like cynicsm may come rather naturally. I know some of you may be thinking " Wow, cynicsm. That's such a powerful word. Wow, she is so bitter. Wow, who spurned her? Smh." Yeah, I mean I'd like to lie and say that I am actually Mother Theresa, with a selfless heart of gold for others underneath all of this exterior. Unfortunately, I am not. I feel things, and I feel them deeply, and sometimes they are bad. So we get mad, and it stays with us sometimes.
And then we just kind of get used to it and become these people with so many walls built up that we honestly are unaware of. Your subconscious will do whatever it takes to protect you.

I'm not trying to say that being guarded and suspicious of everything is healthy. In fact, I believe the opposite, although we are all so tightly wound up in this way of life that it would be a mess to uncoil all affected. I'm simply addressing the fact that this is a reality for a lot of people. And yes, I was spurned, several times over by many different people and things. Weren't we all?

Some of us are just funny though, and there is no backstory for our sassy sense of self. Let's face it-dry humor or wet humor (I actually just looked up wet humor, wow), be whatever type of funny or cynical you wanna be. Whatever gets you out of bed and through the day with a false smile plastered across your face, as I always say.

So apparently, wet humor is a joke told to someone after they've had a drink...feel free to use this cheesy wittiscm at your next cocktail party.