“Snakes” and “Snakiness” Explained – Cambridge & Wellesley, Massachusetts. #Finance. #Storytelling #Consulting #VeryContemporaryLiterature. In this short story, I used academic paper style in narrating personal life experience. I hope to quote my Professor Song’s well-said comment: “Storytellers seek a dark beam of light.” 

Life in elite communities is interspersed with moments of psychological hurt. They can be caused by stress, socio-economic competitions and a personality stigma named “snakiness,”(among other factors) the latter of which is traditionally associated with job markets of highest income. In this meditation, I will provide general definitions of snakiness, explore moments of encountering snakes and subsequent self-critiques and indicate a mentality as a solution not to be affected by snakiness. 

So how can we understand snakiness? As a hard-working business networker, I have personally met a lot of snakes. In fact, I came across one the day I wrote this article. Before I draw the life example, I hope to make the clarification that snakiness should not be confused with the objective “pro-ness.” When we talk about true snakiness, we are talking about true personality stigmas: influence in fakeness, darkness, jealousy and utilitarianism that hover above sincerity, brightness, kindness and humanitarianism – or simply impenetrable talents and purposes in shading people’s feelings. 

Example 1: Stranger snakes

I met a PwC professional at a college career fair who delightfully shared with me her work experience and “extra-curricular” initiatives in diversity and inclusion for Asians. As I asked for a connection, she said sure, but only on LinkedIn. I let her search for herself and send a request on my LinkedIn account, and I happily greeted her with a “reconnect soon.” When I got home, I saw that she viewed my profile — while my connection request was still “pending.” I felt a chill run down my back.

Self-Critique: 

I recently changed my LinkedIn headline to “Executive Assistant to CEO,” which might have been inconsistent with my identity as an entry-level college job seeker during that career fair. Maybe she felt nervous about my job title or she might suspect that I had other intentions in wanting to connect with her. Should this factor be considered before judging her as a snake? There is a high chance that she sensed snakiness in me as well. 

Example 2: Acquaintance snakes:

Another instance of snaky behavior occurred between myself and an alum. While providing professional guidance for my recruitment in investment banking, she said: “You didn’t get the interviews because it was you, but because it was Wellesley [College].” I think this can be categorized as a case of harm that is logically fallacious, ill-purposed and fundamentally scary through a humanitarian lens. 

Self-Critique:

We were talking about my failed recruitment experience from sophomore year, which means that her comment may not have been intended as words of discouragement out of “snaky” reasons but rather honest responses to my unpreparedness in job-hunting. Should this be taken into consideration before purely receiving her comments word-by-word? 

Example 3: “Close friend” snakes:

“I cannot tell you who said the bad words about you after I shared bad things about you behind your back, because that would mean betraying my friends.” — said to me by a friend in the same school year, who is still close to people who are close to me. If the level of harm, scariness and chilliness can be rated, this is a 9.9 out of 10, for it is close, aggressive and unapologetically bad. 

Counter-Self-Critique:

Should I make an excuse for her in that she only said it because of a grudge because I don’t let her take advantage of me — that pretty-looking girl with a strong sense of ego rated 9.9 out of 10? No, I shouldn’t. Bad is bad. 

“You Don’t Deserve This”: A Mentality In Confrontation to False Self-Degradation As a Sign of Being Victimized by Evil Snakiness:

You don’t give a F**k because life is too short for even your own beauty and enjoyment, not to say other people’s toxic self-inferiority syndrome. 

You only give a F**k if it makes you feel good, but remember this: Pain and troubles bounce right back to you if let out too fast.