If you must know, new things, or the idea of something new, easily pique my interest. I will say yes to a random trip even if it's somewhere unfamiliar, a camping invitation in a foreign location, or a game of hard-level sudoku. It’s the notion of wanting to regret nothing, of doing something on a whim. I consider it very fun.
As much as I want to give everything a try, I will still refuse the things that might expose me to unforeseen perils though. Paragliding? I might need months to consider it. Bungee jumping? I have this fear of hitting the wall once I leap. Politics? No, thank you very much. I remember telling my mom a few years ago, “I will never understand politics. It’s so messy.” While I did mean it back then, I do think it’s bullshit now. There is politics in everything. Why is there politics in everything?
Please note that what I mean now is more than just the government—let’s not touch the issue there, it’s beyond my conscience and comprehension. I’ll pick the second most obvious choice: the workplace, the palace of all things politics.
Is having a nice set of skills important in an office life? Of course. I will never lie in my resumé. But would it be enough without a good impression? Would it be useful when your workmates decided to gang up on you upon the weirdest reasoning?
Somehow, climbing the corporate ladder and surviving in the jungle seem so much alike: you need to remember which group to unite and which one to avoid. Impressing the right guy is vital to get a golden ticket to the lion’s den. If only animals were more civilized, there would be bloody politics there in the mighty jungle. Why is there politics in everything?
While I have accepted that there is no way to eliminate it in the workplace, I still can’t get over the fact that there is also politics in something as simple as friendship. Some people try to get closer to a certain someone just for the sake of being considered as the main circle. Some try to join in as many outings as possible to be remembered. Some make a smaller group inside a small group, leaving a few friends behind. Some revel in a circular report (they might refuse the term "gossip") when the hot topic doesn't make it to the regular meetup.
In a group of people, there is always one or two to impress.
Whether I like it or not, I might have participated in it without noticing. If I say that turning down the exclusive invitation to maintain the barely-there "powerplay" might result in getting down another ladder and that makes me hesitate, does that mean I'm a bad person? I need to set my priorities straight. How can I detach myself from this mundane political affair? Why am I tangled in it in the first place anyway?
Shit. There is politics in everything. Why is there politics in everything?
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