Yes, I Am a Selfish Person. In Fact, We’re All Selfish People. And That’s Okay.
I’m going to be real honest with you- I’m a very selfish person. As a matter of fact, I’m one of the most selfish people you’ll probably ever meet. I usually only spend my money on myself (if I’m not spending it on my cat or dog). Every time my grandmother gets something for us to eat, it’s usually at a place where I like eating at (usually at Wendy’s or Whataburger) whether I want them to or not. Every decision ever made has to have my priorities in consideration. And there’s so much more I can’t think of at the tip of my tongue.
And you know what? I’m probably not the only one who’s like that. Actually, scratch that — I know I’m not the only who’s like that. There are almost eight billion people on this planet; there’s gotta be at least one person who’s in the same situation as me. You’re probably like me, too.
“Emily, I’m not selfish!” you might be insisting. Yes, you are. Stop denying it. We’re all selfish beings, and that’s okay. It’s in our human nature to be selfish; we’re animals, after all. You know what the biggest primal instinct is in an animal? It’s survival. And it’s not making sure everyone else will survive. It’s making sure you and only you and maybe those closest to you will survive. Those strangers you only see once at the grocery store or down the street? Who cares about them? You don’t know who they are, and you’ll never see them again, so why should you care? I certainly don’t care.
Hell, let’s take this past survival and put it into society. We live in a society, after all. Isn’t that how the saying goes? So, how does a society exist? “By caring for each other and making rules!” you might say. Good point, but let’s think about why rules are made to make a society. “To make sure everyone is safe and alive!” Ah, yes. Safety. Sounds fine enough, but how many of you follow every safety protocol ever? Probably not. I sure don’t. Everyone always says to eat vegetables and fruits instead of junk food, but junk food is mostly my diet. Chances are you’re not following some sort of safety protocol, either. Therefore, you’re acting against your best interests, just like I am. So, safety can’t be the primary reason as to why rules are made for a society.
Do you think that, maybe, the reason why society’s rules are made is for someone’s own personal interests? Let’s think about it. When you make up rules for a game or something, do you make sure they’re fair for everyone regardless of status, or do you make them for your own advantage, and the rules just happen to be fair for everyone else? What about politics? Do you take a stance for/against something because you want the world to be fair, or are you into that topic because it personally affects you and you want some personal gain out of caring about something? When you post something onto social media, do you post it because you want to spread awareness about something, or do you post it because you just want attention?
I’ll be real with you — I love attention. I love it when somebody notices my hard work and gives me a hand clap or a nice comment. It makes me feel good about myself. You probably enjoy it when others give you that type of attention as well. And you know what? That’s selfish, and it’s okay to feel that way. That’s a natural emotion to feel, and it’s okay to post stuff and care about something for attention. Remember those lockdown and mask skepticism posts that are popular on my blog? Yeah, I still care immensely about these causes for all those reasons stated, but I primarily cared because those causes affected me personally. Same thing with disability rights. Hell, even politicians do it — some make it their entire reputations.
You’re not a bad person for that; it’s natural to care about something because it personally affects you. Just make sure you think about other, better reasons as to why to care about the things you do. We’re all selfish people, and that’s okay, but we’re also not the only people in the world. Think of it like a video game. You may be the main character in your own life, so you make decisions based on what you think will benefit you the best. But there are also side missions you might have to do for someone else, and you know what? It’s good to do something that’ll benefit others. It’s nice to see others happy, feeling all that warmth. Knowing that somebody’s in a better position makes the world a better place, doesn’t it? You don’t have to be selfish all the time, you know.
Besides, doing something good for others makes us feel better about ourselves and look good in front of others. See, there you go again with the selfishness. But who am I kidding? I’m a selfish person, you’re a selfish person, we’re all selfish people at the end of the day. And you know what? It’s okay to be selfish… at least, sometimes.
