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Although the word is a bit on the strong side, the truth is that
all of us have known a creep in our lives (the dictionary defines
the term as “an individual without any character, dignity or
spirit”). He is the kind of person who tries to stand out more
when we are adolescents, when we are fighting to affirm our identities,
our dreams, our place in the world. We are filled with doubts about
what to do, and all of a sudden here comes the creep: always the
leader, the one who thinks he is the best-looking, the most intelligent,
the most able to face the challenges that lie ahead.
To remain in this position, he attacks our self-esteem: he wants
us to think we are ugly, dull, without any future, and that we should
imitate him and his way of leading the guys on the block (or in
the building, or the condominium). In the case of boys, normally
he imposes himself by brute force or by his “smart” attitudes,
as if he knew more than everybody else. In the case of girls, the
creep is always the one who seems to attract the looks of all the
guys, get invited to all the parties, always be the most elegant.
Creeps (both male and female) look at us with a certain air of
superiority and try to dictate the rules of the group. We naturally
feel intimidated at such conduct, unsure of what to do, and end
up letting the creep guide us for some time. Although we do not
know it, we are giving the creep the power that he neither has nor
deserves, and this will be the only moment in his life that his
ephemeral light will manage to shine. But that is all part of our
apprenticeship, since that is the way we develop our defenses in
the future.
And so we grow up. Little by little each of us makes his choices,
the group of adolescents splits up, and the creep disappears, although
we still preserve his image of beauty, wisdom, leadership, elegance,
strength and superiority.
During this important rite of passage called adolescence, all of
us have our fundamental values tested – except the creep. While
we suffer from feeling neglected, insecure and fragile, he sails
smoothly by: after all, he is our leader! He does not have to endure
all those endless difficult hours the rest of us spend on rainy
afternoons and lying awake at nights.
One fine day, when we are already adults, we think about getting
together with our friends from adolescence. We organize a party,
usually in a restaurant – where everyone shows up with their
husbands and wives. Nothing better than to sit down at a good meal,
with good wine, and remember a little the years that made us all
that we are today.
The creep shows up – generally married like the rest of us.
We are all interested in what has become of his/her life, there
is still a certain fascination and awe about an attitude so full
of self-confidence. Where did that person go whom we secretly envied
and admired?
The first surprise is that the creep went nowhere. Or rather, he
may have taken a couple of successful steps, but soon life proved
implacable towards his arrogance – the adult world is quite
different from the one we live in when we are young.
But the creep still has one refuge: his adolescent gang. And since
he thinks that the world has not moved forward, he wants to relive
his moments of glory. When dinner starts, it seems that we have
all been transported back, but soon we realize that he was just
an instrument to enable us to grow. After a couple of drinks, we
see the creep at bay, trying to prove a strength that no longer
exists, feeling that we still believe that he is the leader of us
all.
We smile, exchange kind words with everyone, pay the bill and leave
with the impression that the creep has made the wrong choice. We
think: “everything in that person should have worked out right,
and it didn’t”.
All of us have known a creep or two in our lives. And that’s
just as well.
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polski 
