Boxes

Modern society has come far. There’s no denying that but, like everything, it is flawed. There are flaws which gain lots of attention – as they rightly should. These flaws are serious and visible, such as the misogynistic attitudes of society which tends to result in the sexualisation of women. But there are less visible flaws, flaws which are harder to overcome because you must first convince people that the flaw exists and then you must convince them to fix it. Coming to the point, there’s one flaw that is particularly rampant: boxes.

Of course, not literal boxes – those are useful. I mean cultural boxes; boxes which adults ask you to choose from; boxes that you put yourself into; boxes that can easily control you if you let them. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” is a common question. The hidden subtext is “Which career box will you put yourself into?”

These boxes tend to have a major effect when you’re around 15 years old: about to enter your last years of mandatory schooling and deciding your future. But these boxes aren’t limited to academics and your career. There are boxes for gender, for sexual preferences, for personalities (case in point, the Myers-Briggs personality test that puts you into a four letter box).

Unfortunately, it is the youth who suffer the brunt of this. Shockingly, this problem cannot be solved in the way most parents and youth try to solve other problems: by “working harder”. This can only be solved – if at all – by introspection. While it is important to put yourself into some boxes, for your own convenience if nothing else, there are some boxes that you are expected to fit into and arguably, these are the boxes you should consider the most. To put this into an example, boys are expected to work out, to compete, to lead.

But why? Why should a boy workout? For himself. Why should a boy compete? Because he has independently decided to do so. Why should a boy lead? Because he is driven to. Moreover, these boxes are outdated: girls can do the same yet are taunted when they do.

The bottom line is: there are some boxes that you are better off without, and some you should leap into. You decide which is which.