I wanna be a Navajo!
That's right, you heard me. I want to be a Navajo. Now, let me explain! Today in Sociology we learned that several decades ago, researchers gave children in a Navajo tribe a standardized test, and all of them scored extremely low. Why? Well, it turns out that in Navajo culture, there is no such thing as competition. Everyone stays at the level of the lowest person in the group, so that that person doesn't feel bad and so that the group remains in harmony with one another.
How cool would our society be if we just tried to be like this once in awhile: not gaining satisfaction from competing. There wouldn't be as big a deal over things like college admissions, leadership positions, or entry into exclusive college pseudo-frats (not that I'm thinking of any in particular, of course!).
I was thinking about this in the shower this morning (where I do my best deep-thinking, and it occurred to me that us girls really are way too competitive. There are 2 kinds of this competition, however. The first is the stereotypical bitchy bragging: "My boyfriend bought me flowers!" "Well, mine bought me a bracelet." "So what? Mine bought me a yacht and a beach house!" I have found that this really doesn't happen as much as the other extreme of competition, however: what my 8th grade teacher called the "pity party". This has to be one of the dumbest things ever in teenage and college girl culture: the fight over who has it worse off! Here are some hypothetical examples...
example #1: "I'm not going to see my boyfriend for a week." "So? I'm not seeing mine for a month!"
Then when the other girl knows she can't beat that, she tries anyway: "Well, it FEELS like a year for me."
example #2: "Argghhh, I'm so ugly! My thighs look fat in these Abercrombie pants!" "Puh-leez, I would kill for your body. At least you don't have a double chin like mine!" "what? You don't have a double chin! And at least your hair isn't one big frizzball!"
example #3: "My parents are so awful! They won't add extra money to my slavin card!" "You think your parents are bad? Mine are letting my younger brother drive around in my car while I'm here at school, and he doesn't even have to pay for gas!" "Well, my parents refuse to buy my makeup for me anymore, so I have it much rougher than you do!"
Girls, do we realize how completely SPOILED we sound? Do we even CARE? Here is how these situations should go next time:
new example: "Eeew, I hate these bags under my eyes! I look like a zombie!" "No you don't, you look amazing! If you want, you can borrow my new concealer. And just think about all the amazing things you have going for you, like acing that Accounting exam! You rock! And you know what, I rock, too! We BOTH rock! Yay for us!"
I'll admit it, I am one of the biggest offenders of the pity party, but now that i've realized it, I'm going to make an effort to change, even just a little bit. So if anyone hears me whining, remind me of this promise! If anyone else wants to join me on this noble quest, lemme know! Join me in becoming just a little bit Navajo!
How cool would our society be if we just tried to be like this once in awhile: not gaining satisfaction from competing. There wouldn't be as big a deal over things like college admissions, leadership positions, or entry into exclusive college pseudo-frats (not that I'm thinking of any in particular, of course!).
I was thinking about this in the shower this morning (where I do my best deep-thinking, and it occurred to me that us girls really are way too competitive. There are 2 kinds of this competition, however. The first is the stereotypical bitchy bragging: "My boyfriend bought me flowers!" "Well, mine bought me a bracelet." "So what? Mine bought me a yacht and a beach house!" I have found that this really doesn't happen as much as the other extreme of competition, however: what my 8th grade teacher called the "pity party". This has to be one of the dumbest things ever in teenage and college girl culture: the fight over who has it worse off! Here are some hypothetical examples...
example #1: "I'm not going to see my boyfriend for a week." "So? I'm not seeing mine for a month!"
Then when the other girl knows she can't beat that, she tries anyway: "Well, it FEELS like a year for me."
example #2: "Argghhh, I'm so ugly! My thighs look fat in these Abercrombie pants!" "Puh-leez, I would kill for your body. At least you don't have a double chin like mine!" "what? You don't have a double chin! And at least your hair isn't one big frizzball!"
example #3: "My parents are so awful! They won't add extra money to my slavin card!" "You think your parents are bad? Mine are letting my younger brother drive around in my car while I'm here at school, and he doesn't even have to pay for gas!" "Well, my parents refuse to buy my makeup for me anymore, so I have it much rougher than you do!"
Girls, do we realize how completely SPOILED we sound? Do we even CARE? Here is how these situations should go next time:
new example: "Eeew, I hate these bags under my eyes! I look like a zombie!" "No you don't, you look amazing! If you want, you can borrow my new concealer. And just think about all the amazing things you have going for you, like acing that Accounting exam! You rock! And you know what, I rock, too! We BOTH rock! Yay for us!"
I'll admit it, I am one of the biggest offenders of the pity party, but now that i've realized it, I'm going to make an effort to change, even just a little bit. So if anyone hears me whining, remind me of this promise! If anyone else wants to join me on this noble quest, lemme know! Join me in becoming just a little bit Navajo!