Do you /or did you in the past- compare your life with those of others?

Have you been there- thinking others have it better than you or vice versa? How did you manage these feelings?

There was a time in my life when I would compare my life with my classmates. This mostly happened during the 3 years when I was left to my relatives in China.

I don’t know about now but back in the late 90’s, one’s reputation in school was dependent on one’s appearance, intelligence, and wealth. Being a class leader in an elementary school in China was an equivalent of being a high school captain of a sports team – popularity to the highest degree. To be the class leader, one must have the look, intelligence, and wealth.

I remember my class leader had 2 posses follow her around. We all knew she was wealthy because she told everyone she lived in a mansion and her father drove a car. A car was considered a luxury item back then as the only cars you saw on the roads back then were taxis. Ordinary people either rode bicycles or scooters.

I was so jealous of her and often wondered what my life would be like if I was her – tall, beautiful, and with wealthy parents.

Eventually (I don’t know when), I stopped comparing my life to hers. Perhaps, it was because I forgot about her after I moved to the US. Perhaps, what she has in life no longer mattered to me.

Now, as I’ve gotten older, I no longer compare myself to anyone else. Even my mom has stopped comparing me to her friends’ children. Maybe she feels I’m a lost cause as I sometimes feel like one myself. I think I stopped comparing my life to other people’s lives because I feel at this point in my life, I should just do what pleases me. Life is too short to be chasing after other people’s lives that are not my own.

#SundayPoser