I was the only one who knew - Eqay Inspire

Brightly-coloured, nicely-designed and bedazzling. That’s the perfect description anyone would give to a shoe I bought when I was a freshman at KNUST

In fact, the moment I set my eyes on the pair at the market, I felt like a long-sought dream of mine had come true.

Soon enough, however, my dream-come-true became a living nightmare.

What I didn’t realize from the beginning was that the anterior portion of my shoe was as hard as cast iron.

Anytime I put them on, I would go through the entire day feeling like my toes were badly wounded.

The pain was excruciating. Yet, I always forced a smile on my face when I had them on.

My friends and colleagues stared at my feet with admiration but I was the only one who knew the pain I had to endure to sustain their adoration.

THE LESSON
I never understood what the phrase “be in someone’s shoes” actually meant until I had this experience.

Often, we stare at the beautiful outlook of people’s lives and feel their grass is greener than ours.

We look at them with admiration and even envy or jealousy sometimes.

But the truth is, we are not in their shoes. We only see the outside of the shoe and don’t truly understand what they’re going through.

On social media especially, almost everyone wants to show a part of their lives that will win them praise and worship.

And very regularly, that show-off is undergirded by hidden pains and unpleasant experiences, and this is not being exaggerated.

What you see is often different from what the reality is.

There’s nothing wrong with drawing inspiration from the achievements of others.

That notwithstanding, if you ever see a glamorous lifestyle and self-pity starts knocking on your door, remember my experience and think again.

AUTHOR: EBENEZER AGBEY QUIST
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