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A congratulation tha
Where flattery meets phony

 

By Natalie Serafini

loser. In the face of struggle,
strife, and sucky situations
where | definitely don’t come
out on top, I push myself to be
generous. Even as I bite back
a grimace at the bitter taste of
losing, swallowing the disdain
that I feel at my core, I’ve gotten
good at accepting defeat and being
genuinely happy for the victor.
Unless they’re that person. They
work hard, they’re superbly kind
and friendly so you can’t really
dislike them—but you do anyways.
Their success is just too hugely

[f= myself on being a gracious

expected.

You think, “I could do better
than them if I set my mind to it, I
just haven’t yet.” They’re your rival,
but only in your head, and only
because they’re too perfect in every
way. It’s almost impossible to be

completely happy for these people.
I’m fine with being happy for
unfortunate people who randomly
do better than me because the stars,
planets, and heavens aligned in
their favor; I’ve decided that is how
they beat me, and since even | can’t
fight the supernatural, I might as

other people to succeed, but within

reason.
You can’t be completely happy
for the perfect people because
their success is altogether too
consistent and too huge: they get
better grades than you, they’re the
valedictorian, and they get all the

“I'm fine with being happy for unfortunate people who randomly do
better than me because the stars, planets, and heavens aligned in their
favor; I've decided that is how they beat me, and since even | can't fight the
supernatural, | might as well be happy for their questionable victory.’

well be happy for their questionable
victory. They can look back on their
moment of triumph decades from
now and feel good about having
beaten Natalie Serafini in that egg

race at camp.

So you can be genuinely happy
for the losers who win, because
you’re generous and deep down
you know it was a fluke—yeah, it
was a fluke. My thing is, I like for

solos in choir. I’m always impressed
and vaguely glad for them, but

my congratulatory message

is often another story. When I
congratulate these people on their
roaring success, it’s a generic
“kongratulations!” with a “k.” They
don’t need anyone else telling them

they’re fantastic.
Is this okay? I do it, but as

much as I like to find reasons to
justify my bad attitudes, I think

it’s better to be a gracious loser.

I always find myself eventually
liking people I started off hating.
Why not push past the disdain
from the start? You get the pride of
knowing you’re incredibly mature
and generous. Hey, maybe you even

beat them in that category? Go you!
Besides, as much as I am pro-
bitterness, it’s not worth it to fixate
on the accomplishments of others
as compared to your supposed lack:
you end up wasting time that could

be spent on getting ahead!

So even if it’s painful to get the
words out, congratulate people for
their accomplishments, however
many there are; when you’re a
roaring success, you'll have that
many more people returning the
sentiment. Keep congratulating
people until your fake happiness
for them is genuine!

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