So... Have many people reached out to you about the goldfish comic and say how much that quote resonated with them, depite them not in fact being a goldfish... just uh. Just being very suppressed.
Or just me?
Hello~ No, it's not just you
I'm sorry to read that you're feeling like this, there are actually others in the reblogs who had resonated with being just as suppressed, mishandled or uncared for too
I'm grateful the post is very relatable with the fish owning community, especially when they share it with their own betta or pet adventures.
But I admit, I also felt heard when I saw the people who saw themselves in the fish. An underlying reason for me drawing it was because for a long time I felt so suppressed about my needs. The idea of not upsetting or stressing out the humans outside my bowl, who I thought to be more sensitive and have bigger complicated problems than me, felt more important than the fact that I myself was getting extremely sick from neglect, to the point of causing upset and mayhem anyway by the end. Becoming a 'bad goldfish who misbehaves by jumping out of their tank for no apparent reason' (Note: If a fish is stressed out or threatened, it might jump in an attempt to reach safety.)
I am lucky, therapy has been helping me along with that. I worked through what was actual fact and what was feelings. The reality is I am a normally positive and caring human being who loves spreading joy to others and boosting them up, but for too long I have been giving too much for too little in return for myself.
It doesn't matter how much joy we bring to the humans by being there in the tiny fishbowl for them, we too also need to be properly cared for in the long run. If we just keep giving without being cared for ourselves, we will eventually grow sick from neglect and become our worst and weakest selves.
Whether the humans outside the bowl are just ignorant due to being mentally immature, inexperienced due to being first time owners or being physically unable to provide for the necessary equipment to care for the goldfish, I've learnt that the reasoning isn't all that matters.
What is the most important matter, is the reality that being in this current fishbowl setup is bad for us.
But we are not stuck here, we ourselves can change that.
We are not just an average goldfish, with effort we can grow legs.
Mutate, get out of this unsustainable fishbowl, find other paths that are healthy for you.
Be a goldfish with legs.