just a puppet

in the illusion of choice, we are numb to the strings.

Sometimes, it’s going to feel like your life is falling apart. Dramatic? Perhaps. But it can’t be that bad, can it?  I’m only juggling four classes as a full-time university student, two part-time jobs, an attempt to get back into lifting and long morning walks, piles of laundry, an apartment to clean, familial relationships, a social life, and the simple, yet taxing, task of survival and existence as a human being. I’m just a puppet. 

I’m constantly behind. I’m always rushing. It’s nonstop from the minute I open my eyes until my head hits the pillow for the night. Or the morning, more often than not. The clock doesn’t stop, for it has mercy on no one, not even me. Though I wish it did, as my to-do list seems to extend indefinitely… I’m just a puppet. 

“It will only get worse from here,” say the adults in my life. Sure, you have children to feed, bills to pay, taxes to file and you’re tangled in the strings of a full-time career, but I’m sure you would have it all figured out by now, right? The answer is no. Not only do the stressors of life persist, but the dreaded feeling of unfulfillment looms over those who let themselves fall victim to the beaten path. You’re just a puppet. 

“It’s not your job to correct the world…” my uncle once said to me, and while this may be true, it is my job to correct my world. It is my job to prevent myself from succumbing to a mundane nine-to-five, submission to the modern slavery of cubicles, and the surrender of my passions for a means-to-an-end career path. It is my job to pave my own path and ignore the suggestions of society that encourage humans to become mere pawns in the rat race. We’re all just puppets. 

Is that too forward? Does that make you uncomfortable? Have you ever thought to open your eyes and look beyond the veil of ‘freedom’? The illusion of ‘choice’ and ‘free will’? Like a puppet on a string, you endure seemingly endless years of schooling, just to end up working for your boss, who works for their boss, who works for their boss, who works for their boss, who works for their boss… Who’s really pulling the strings? We’re all just puppets. 

Break the cycle. Reclaim your autonomy. Think for yourself. Pave your own path. Listen to your calling, don’t just hear it. Take action. Cut the strings. Don’t be just a puppet.