Do opinions really matter?

Sometimes, the most difficult thing in this world can be listening to another person’s opinion. Generally, opinions seem to have a negative reputation among us. How many times you have heard somebody say “it is just your opinion” or after a sentence you said “that’s just my opinion, you can say whatever you want to say.” Or, have you ever had a fight with someone because each of you had different opinions and you couldn’t agree or agree to disagree?
I personally think that opinions don’t really matter and I feel that they often lead to conflicts and disturbances of mind. But one cannot avoid expressing one’s opinions because opinions are a part of the human expression. In fact, opinions allow us to put ourselves in another person’s shoes.

I will tell you a story that made me believe that only expressing my opinion would give me peace. Once, when I was in ninth grade, I was learning history in a tuition class in Sri Lanka. A girl from my class was explaining to us how the1505 Portuguese invasion of my country destroyed many monuments and ancient edifices, which caused a calamity that continued for years and years.

Actually, I was really in love with this girl, but I disagreed with her statement. I thought that the present administration was causing much more disaster than the Portuguese by not propagating the value of some of these monuments to the public. I was afraid to tell her this, and I was shivering because I thought if I had told my opinion, I would have been disliked by her and the teacher. I thought my opinion would create conflict in the class and as I mentioned earlier, opinions were not my favorite things.

But, throughout her speech, my thoughts kept bothering me, and I felt like blood was pumping through the veins of my right hand. Then her speech ended. The class was filled with a loud applause. Then the teacher asked us, “Are there any questions for her?” The question is rings in my ears, even today. Of course, I could not express my opinion that day.

As we continue our lives, we cannot really avoid encountering others’ opinions on a daily basis. Or, vice versa, we can’t help expressing our own opinions. If we don’t express them, a part of our human expression will be lost. Opinions can create chaos but we have to express them even though we think they don’t really matter.

As college students, we may have loads and loads of opinions. We listen to them every day in our classes, from our friends and by reading articles like this in The Spectrum. You may despise them, disagree with them, or love them, but remember to tell how you feel. Don’t keep regrets on expressing your opinions and don’t let your voice fail.

Samantha is a junior majoring in journalism.