Why do we try to be perfect? — if it’s anything Hollywood, books and online articles have taught us, is that we all know: anything that is human-made, can never be perfect, including humans. 

People wear out, grow, and make mistakes. They are not designed to be living at one hundred percent all the time, even the most perfect looking person on the outside falls under pressure to relinquish their own imperfections. I like to use Toddlers and Tiaras for example. (If you don’t know who Honey Boo Boo is, then you have not lived through the golden era of TLC.) 

If there is any channel that has taught me no one is perfect, it’s watching TLC. You cannot tell me all the couple on 90 Day Fiancee is perfect from one another. 

Perfection is a perception.

Looking at pop culture, I can honestly say with my chest that the mass audience is starting to love the underdogs, those coming from the land of misfit toys. It’s cool to be uncool. Being normal is popular. See, it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks of you. What matters is the confidence you have, and the honesty within yourself. 

Artists, celebrities, political figures – those who have made a name for themselves of this time, embrace their oddities, utilize them, and admit to not being perfect. Think about it, it is no longer the 90’s where a sex tape means the ending to your career. If anything, knowing and understanding the mistakes of the previous generations have given us the tools to deal with them now. At least I hope so, if not, then people definitely just don’t let their big mistakes be the end-all to their lives or career. 

Being the same is boring, being normal is a drag. Why should there be a million copies of a personality when you can have a million different copies, sit back and watch how they interact. There’s a reason why the Real World, Jersey Shore, Big Brother and 90 Day Fiancee are popular; because we love to see how people destroy each other with their drama while we appreciate the drama in our lives. 

I think I’d be pretty dope in a TLC show, just saying.

Let’s take a moment to look at ourselves and try to figure out how we truly are the protagonists of our own story. Think about what that means, because every decision, thought, action a person does, will add to the story, and you are your own audience. There’s no time for regrets and should have’s or what-ifs. Every story has an ending, so we need to live life without any regrets and move forward. 

It may take each of us a while to realize that at first, but that’s okay, we’re human; we’re imperfect.

Written by Melanie Fiallos