When I was six, I had this friend who was taller than me. And I was really jealous—I wanted to be as tall as she was. I told my mom about this and she said, “Well, if you want to grow, you should eat ALL your meals, even the ones you don’t like.” And so I did. (My mom must have been so happy! Lol.) In the end, I grew up all right, and I don’t know if it was because I did my best or because of my genes, but jealousy actually made me work harder to get my dream.
So, I think that sometimes jealousy is good. (There, I said it! Please, don’t hit me.)
Jealousy makes you work harder and put the best of yourself out there. I only think jealousy is evil when you start wishing bad things to others. For instance, if I would have wished my friend not to grow an inch taller for the rest of her life. Or in the lit. world, it would mean that if I see someone succeeding (i.e. hitting the NYT bestseller list or selling movie rights) it’s all right to feel 100% jealous. But, hey, don’t wish them a total failure on their next book!
So what do you think, guys? Is it all right to feel totally jealous? Does it make you work harder to get your dreams? Or am I just crazy?
