This week's Mother Wit is all about not being fooled by the "hype" you encounter in life. Excitement is a good thing. We all need to be hopeful and happily expecting something good. But excitement without truth or wisdom can be a destructive thing.

I remember back in my college days as a freshman often admiring this certain group of girls who seemed to have it all - looks, smarts, even star athletes for boyfriends. It looked like they had the world on a string and nothing but good times every day. But one afternoon a friend and I were seated in a booth having lunch in the campus cafeterias, when who should arrive but "the divas" (as I liked to call them). They all nestled into the booth right behind ours and began chattering away about a problem one of them was having with her boyfriend who was one of those hunks on the football team.
Now mind you, my friend and I weren't actually trying to eavesdrop, we just couldn't help overhearing their conversation. Truth be told, I had always secretly wanted an inside glimpse inside their perfect little world, if only to get some tips for myself.

But then my image of them was swiftly shattered by what I overheard. It seemed that one of the divas was contemplating ending her relationship with said hunk because he couldn't control his anger and would sometimes hit her when he got upset. But wait! That's not the worst part. Right when we just knew here friends would firmly advise her to go to her parents, her advisor, or the campus police to report his behavior, they did a total 180 and tried to convince her to hang in there. After all, he wouldn't be hitting her if he didn't love her so much.

... That's it. Let it sink in for a minute. That's what they actually told her to do.

My friend and I gasped and quickly bounded out of our booth and straight out of the cafeteria so that we could absorb the fact that we had actually heard such total madness being suggested by these girls we had envied for so long. How could this be? They were in college for God's sake! How could such seemingly sophisticated, modern young women actually believe that kind of stuff?

From that day on, I learned my lesson about admiring those around me who seem to have it all. The value of self-respect became even more deeply rooted in my soul, and I never again wished for someone else's lifestyle. Even though I was currently without a boyfriend or even a date at that time, I surely counted my blessings that night. And I prayed that the young diva would learn to think for herself before it was too late. I'm sure when she hooked up with the football hunk, she thought she had hit pay dirt, not that she'd be getting hit and treated like dirt. 

Truly, all that glitters is not gold.