COQ: Anne Frank: First Glance at Loneliness/the Black Sheep

Puffin Books 2002. 

Page 29. 

"I don't fit in with them, and I've felt that clearly in the last few weeks. They're so sentimental together, but I'd rather be sentimental on my own. They're always saying how nice it is with the four of us, and that we get along so well, without giving a moment's thought to the fact that I don't feel that way...Another thing I can't stand is having them talk about me in front of outsiders, telling them how I cried or how sensibly I'm behaving. It's horrible" 

My comment: 

"Do all of us feel that way, Anne? I wonder if she survived how differently she would have felt about her family. Or, how differently they'd felt about her"  

I think about things like this quite a lot. How everyone seems to be isolated from everyone else and think that everyone else doesn't know it. Well, they might not know it, you might be a really good actor/actress like Anne Frank was - most of the people who lived with her in the annexe believed the fake cheeriness she would put on. And yet, for some reason, even when we are aware of the troubles everybody faces, we believe we are entirely unique in our own problems and that nobody close to us has ever faced the same fate - which is entirely incorrect, in my opinion. 

I think the sooner people started to realize how similar and yet how different we all are, the world will be a better place and people will stop comparing one to another like life itself is a competition in who has it better or worse. 

And as for the second part where Anne speaks of how they talk about her to other people, I believe, is an example of how often parents forget that their kids are people, too. Even though people in general are aware of this, it's like the second they have kids it all goes out the window. It turns into sneaking up on them, reading their diaries, discussing them with other people like they are objects of your own personal success and failures, and embarrassing them online. Everyone has their own methods to parenting, but personally, I would vote putting their rights as humans pretty high up on the list. 

Anyway, thank you for reading! I'll touch more on this subject in later COQ posts. Until next time

- Loz x