Change. This word gets thrown around way too casually.
To quote George Bernhard Shaw, "Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything".
It's an idea society willingly accepts with open arms, and forces down other people's throats. You can see it everywhere: from self-important people who somehow believe that changing themselves will make them a better person, to large corporations who think that changing their logo will increase their sales.
You could certainly call it change, but is it really progress?
The answer is undeniably no. Those self-important people will only change how they act or how they look, but inside, they're still the same shitty person. And as for the companies, all they've done is waste my time. I don't want to spend ten minutes looking for the shampoo Komachi asked me to get, only to realize I've passed it four times without recognizing it.
That's my precious time you're wasting, you know? I have important stuff to do, like rereading light novels from an author who hasn't released the next volume in over a year...
But the type of change that bothers me most, is the kind that naive kids will come up with. For example, a graduating middle schooler, fed up with the despicable institution he's attended for years, has decided to go through an image change and start his high school debut as a cool and sociable kid. Only to get hit by a car on the first day.
Tragic, but there's always a silver lining. You see, this entering high schooler knew from the beginning that there was no hope for him, but he still desperately wanted to believe that he could change. That's why when he found himself in a hospital, he was relieved. He now had an excuse, "Since I'm entering late, there's no way I'll be able to fit in with all those people. They've already made connections with each other, so when I come in, I'll just be an outsider to them".
And with that, he could push the blame onto something else.
That's why change is overrated. It's only for those that can't live with themselves. And so, this young boy learned a valuable lesson...
But he wouldn't be left alone. No...someone had to force him into a certain club, and inside that club, he struggled to uphold the beliefs that kept him safe.
Safe from what, you say? Everything. From failed exams to flirtatious girls. There was nothing that could penetrate his stone-cold wall of logic, built from the countless experiences he's endured. Neither an ice cold beauty who got off on verbal abuse, nor a warm yet energetic pink haired girl.
Or so he thought. But before he knew it, he was standing in front of his companions, laying out his broken heart for them to see, suffering from endless abuse and neglect.
And then, they ran. Ran away from that which confused them.
But they didn't mock him, nor did they laugh. They didn't spread it around like a bad joke, or gossip with all their friends.
No, on the contrary, they stopped running. And then they faced him, holding in their eyes the same desire he could finally put into words: To understand.
...
What was I talking about again?
Well, in any case, I guess not all change is bad.
