happenstance

Thursday, April 22, 2010 / 10:09 AM

pay some attention

Why is it when someone is feeling down or depressed and in need of company, we always fail to notice and step in, until something really bad really happens?

I was just looking through People.com and i realised that this girl named Phoebe Prince hanged herself because she was bullied in school, being called names and even pushed into lockers, with some even leaving her facebook wall posts asking her to go and die. And there, she did. She was dead on 15 April.

So i wonder if it helps if we all follow our intuition sometimes, and even a text message or a fb wall post or email and msn or skype conversations all come in to become a support network, a preventive measure and definitely a helping hand to someone who is really feeling down.

Sometimes we are all too concerned for ourselves, too preoccupied with our own pursuits that we become blind sided, failing to notice the small things that could make big changes. It doesn't take a lot to text someone, saying things like hey how are you?. Even though it may be extremely cliched and well, tacky and sometimes people might take it to be superficial, but the sheer thought that someone remembers you and even bothers to message you goes a long way, meaning someone cares. It's definitely better than being satisfied with the thought that ahh he/she will understand since we have known each other for so long there really is no need to pay so much attention to him/her.

Fair enough if you think that your friend/lover/family is a strong person. But please, take some time off today and pay some attention. We all live with a role to play, be it the mother, the employee, the smart student who has it all, the nerd, the valedictorian, the athlete, the boyfriend, the girlfriend, the best friend, the father, the wife, the husband, the student, the friend. There are so many roles to adhere to, and sometimes we perform these roles without the individuality that rightfully belongs to all of us.

But really, humans all need love and attention. No matter how long you have known them for.

And may i reiterate that when someone is feeling a slight tinge of unhappiness, be it losing a pen, or accidentally bleaching clothes, there is often a downward spiral, that these emotions become magnified as these people think about the unhappiness and negativity that surround them that they essentially become cooped up in a bubble of sadness. Then this bubble becomes a strong life state of unhappiness that derails the person, be it for an hour, a day or a week. So, pay some attention before it's too late, my friends.