Guest Writer Emily Price talks about her indecisiveness and explains why it’s okay to not know what you believe.
You can find any group of people fighting for what they believe in. There are marches and protests across the world. Strong and passionate people stand up for the protection of animals, right to sexual freedom, awareness about climate change, the need for a more responsive government – the list goes on. Everyone seems to know exactly what they want, how they want it and when they want it.
I admire this devotion, but I often find myself lost in the sea of opinions. I know where I stand on a few issues, but on others, I have no idea. I can see the points that people make and agree or disagree upon, but I cannot definitively state what I believe.
This doesn’t concern only religion or politics. It boils down to even the finest points of morality. It seems easy to agree to protect endangered animals or to see men and women as equals, but what happens when we go deeper? When you think of the big picture, it seems easy. When you get into the details of it all, the lines blur.
It is for these reasons that I find myself questioning what I believe. People will start to have a discussion around me and I feel the urge to join in, but I lack the decisiveness.
Generally, I see love as the answer. If we simply let ourselves love each other and the world around us, we can fix everything wrong with society. Yet nothing is that simple. How do we begin to love that much? How do we throw out all our ingrained prejudices? It is easy to get confused.
To not know what I believe is scary and intimidating. It is hard to be passionate about nothing. I feel pushed to speak even when I have nothing to say. I feel pressure to put words in my mouth and I am shaken to the foundation of who I am. Who am I if I do not believe in anything? Who am I if I cannot fight for something in this world? Some nights, these questions get the best of me. Then I look at pictures of my friends and family. I see their smiling faces and warm embraces and I remember, I don’t stand for nothing. I stand for them and they stand for me. The fact that I don’t know how I feel about our current government or our changing climate doesn’t mean that I don’t believe in anything.
What is it like to not know what I believe? It is wonderfully freeing.
Every day, I find myself growing. I find myself learning about who I am and the world that I live in. I choose to surround myself with people who will help me discover more about who I am.
It is OK not to know what you believe. Don’t be afraid to participate in those discussions. Just ask questions. Don’t be afraid to say things and then realize that they aren’t what you wanted to say. Lean on the kind people around you and realize that it is OK to not know what you believe.
Emily Price is a first-year psychology major and guest writer for the Newswire from Miamisburg, Ohio.
