By: TAYLOR BENNETT
Staff Writer
Oftentimes we find ourselves in compromises, fights, and even relationship-ending issues, simply because we did not know how to stand up for ourselves or defend our true character rather than the character people perceive us as. In one particular case, I can recall exactly what happened when I realized how long I had been giving up my own well-being and stability for that of my friends. However, never in my life did I think that when it happened I would be sitting in the car of someone I’d only known for a year, blasting “Man or Muppet” while driving aimlessly through town at night. Like many things from that year, this incident surprised me, and there I was taking life lessons from a middle-aged man singing a duet with an animate hand puppet. Just like Jason Segel, it became apparent that I had to reflect on myself and find the right way to go – only I was trying to find my way out of an emotional swan dive into grief, not figuring out how to join the Muppets. After about the fifth time of listening to this song on repeat while screaming it at the top of my lungs with this newfound friend and support system, I had a rather intense epiphany. I wasn’t doing anything for myself but letting the people who initiated the issues in my life win because this is what negative people want to see; they want to see you struggle to emotionally recover from the words exchanged during what at the time can seem like the end of the world. “Man or Muppet” was most definitely a ballad about finding one’s identity through trying times, and that is exactly what I had done in the few moments that passed by in daunting seconds within that FJ Cruiser with its cold leather seats and thumping speakers. I found myself questioning everything that I thought I had ever known about myself and had finally recognized what I had been: a doormat. I was letting someone walk over me once again simply because I did not want to cause conflict or hurt someone’s feelings for telling the truth. It turned out that I was the Muppet, letting someone control me with their hand in my head to move me around in the dramatic coming-of-age film that had become my life – metaphorically, of course. Instead of letting other people dictate how I felt and acted in life, I needed to become the man – well, the woman – and take my own life back. In this way and through this short but crucial story, I hope others may recognize when they have become the Muppet in their own lives.