Is Optimism an Illusion?

By: Salma Ahmed

Spotlight Editor

Just within the past week, I have been called out for my blind optimism over a dozen of times. A “wake up call” is what they kept repeating over and over again, as I stared at them cluelessly.  

I admit that I am an optimistic person, perhaps a little bit too optimistic at times, but that does not mean everything positive is merely an illusion. Does it?

Detaching from reality to dreamland anytime a minor inconvenience takes place and encouraging my friends to celebrate all the little victories does not really help my case.

It all hit me when a newly-made friend refused to share his birthday with me, implying that it is pointless to spend a day celebrating your creation.

I agreed with him, as I believe birthdays are no more than a capitalistic scam and a selfish act (but that’s a story for another op-ed). Then shock truly hit me when he mentioned that he doesn’t celebrate anything. I tried to ease the shock, stating that within every single day is at least a dozen actions worth celebrating, which led to him giving me a look people give children when they speak of alien concepts.

Or that time when I described a colleague I disliked as “not my cup of tea,” which resulted in a loud, hearty laugh from my friend, followed by her observation that I never say I hate anyone.

Not everyone is genuine and I admit this fact. What I refuse to admit is that I will ever run into these disingenuous people within my lifetime. Why would anyone ever be anything but genuine to me, I am extremely understanding and anything but judgmental.

I have even found justifications whenever anyone has ever taken advantage of my utter naivete so that they remain exempt from blame and I then have a reason not to dislike them.

However, a red flag did go up when a student in my work group asked me to write his midterm paper on the very night it was due.

I considered helping him until my morality kicked in and stopped me, not because I was being so blatantly used but because of how unethical his request.

I have to physically stop myself from smiling whenever someone is complaining about something, because I simply cannot find the purpose behind the complaints and I cannot figure out why they are taking whatever it is so seriously.

I’ve been told that I “live in the land of unicorns and rainbows,” more than a handful of times this past week alone.

This should be concerning, except that I take these comments as compliments.

Our world is full of misery and heartbreaking events which take place on a daily basis. My method of coping is to detach myself from all that and hence achieve my lifelong goal of being happy.

Several tragic accidents took place over the past month and I stared blankly into nothingness as those around me took in the news.

Contrary to what this might imply to an outsider, I feel too much and it’s why I have forced myself to simply suspend all feeling in such situations.

I had shed so many tears because of lost lives that I never knew, because of the turtles dying and the Earth decaying, that I had to make the decision of not reacting.

Sure, the typical tears are shed over rejection, boys, physical pain and all that’s in between.

But slowly these tears are decreasing to extinction, to be replaced by my optimistic views taking over, which – as I mentioned – some easily mistake for naivete and stupidity.

At what point does optimism become stupidity and at what point does optimism become detachment from reality?

In short, and in case you zoned out in the middle, you know how some people believe the entire world is out to get them? Well, I’m the exact opposite.