"Nothing That is So is So"

This was one part of an English assignment I am in the middle of working on. For our English final we were asked to write a few papers, each one on a different quote from any of the books, plays, or poems we read this year. This is my second paper and one of my favorite quotes.

Anyone who knows the tale of Shakespeare's “Twelfth Night” knows that it is one of great deception and disguises. Everyone has their secrets and some go to unbelievable lengths to hide them. Upon his arrival to Illyria, Viola's brother, Sebastian, encounters the town jester, Feste. Feste rambles to Sebastian in his riddles and rhymes but offers one genuine warning in the end. He cautions, “Nothing that is so is so” (IV. ii. 9). While extremely vague and somewhat confusing, it is also intensely accurate. Within the play, as in life, nothing is as it seems. The man everyone already believes to be Sebastian is in fact Viola, Viola is secretly in love with Orsino, and the wisest man in town is labeled a fool. It is ironic indeed that the advice given by a “fool” could be so immensely insightful.

It is engraved in toddlers and young children everyday not to “judge a book by its cover”, because not everyone is as they appear. Likewise, all young adults are advised to be cautious, as to keep from getting scammed or ripped off. All of these types of warning are telling people to beware, for “nothing that is so is so.” For example, the way someone dresses does not automatically determine their inner beauty, or lack thereof. Furthermore, what seems to be a lovely, perfect family on the outside is more than likely to have cracks in its foundation. Everyone has things they hide behind their eyes. That's exactly why nobody should judge another based on their exterior; things are almost never the same from the outside looking in.

Though I may seem easy to read, there's something that tells me that no one could guess what my life is like just by looking at me. I'm surrounded by people everyday that assume I wouldn't have a care in the world. I'm sure there are those who come across my somewhat disturbing posts online and just assume I'm exaggerating a broken nail or an idiotic argument with a friend or boyfriend. That's how most people judge, without taking the other person's private life into consideration. I for one project very little of my inner self to those around me. When I go out I'm always with someone, usually smiling. It's that person that everyone else assumes I am inside and out. Would they guess my family was torn apart? Would they guess what my parents are like behind closed doors? I highly doubt they'd even take a second to consider it a possibility.

People talk trash all the time and never think twice about what their subject of abuse is going through from day to day. When I was younger I would get ostracized for what a wore and how different I was. The children who teased didn't know any better but the teachers weren't any help. Teacher's would complain to my parents about my lack of participation and once a teacher humiliated me in the fourth grade by making me a megaphone out of construction paper and ordering me to use it when I spoke. Did they consider what I dealt with outside of school? Did they take into account that maybe I was used to being quiet because of all the things I was told to keep a secret at home? No, I'm guessing they didn't. I was a little girl being thrown around in a custody battle who decided to dress differently and play make believe at school to escape. I got made fun of for it because everyone just assumed I was on the inside how I was acting on the outside: like a weird, outcast little kid. As I got older I was judged some more from how I would act with my friends. I would hug and jump on my friends whether they were guys or girls. I got called rude names for giving so much attention to my guy friends. None of the heartless kids at school considered it might be because I felt a desperate need for affection. No one thinks before they act. Nothing that is so is so.

No child and no adult should be treated with disregard for their feelings and personal lives. I am a blonde cheerleader and often get degraded for being a “dumb blonde” or the stereotypical cheerleader with nothing to show but a short skirt. However, I'm also going to be studying to become a journalist. This “promiscuous, dumb cheerleader” has a passion for writing and a passion for photography. I have skills and knowledge and unbearable memories. I have a past many people feel sorry for and I sometimes find myself feeling sorry as well, but that doesn't stop me. I cannot be defined by a stereotype because I am an individual and everything inside of me is genuine. It is no wonder we're taught to never judge a book by its cover. Books hold thousands upon thousands of words that could never be summed up in the small spaces it takes to bind them. People are no different.