5 Reasons Everyone Should Relax On The Zayn Hate

#YOUHaveNoChill

#1 He's 22

@zaynmalik / Via twitter.com

Try and poke as many holes in this one as you'd like. I'm not budging and I'm pulling my "old lady" card out. Absolutely NO ONE gets it right when they're in their teens and early (or mid or late) 20's. Throw in infinite amounts of money and unthinkable levels of fame and, as we've seen time and again, it doesn't quite allow for a seamless transition into a life of making decisions anywhere close to perfectly. That's not an excuse, that's just reality. I also think there's a bit of a stigma when it comes to the perception of the "bad boy" and how much leeway one is given because of it. It's completely unfair (but, unfortunately, also reality). Anyways, my point is that Zayn is your average 22-year-old dude doing literally what all the 22-year-old dudes I've ever known has done, except it's in front of the world. Is it wise to call Calvin Harris a di**head on Twitter? No, but he'll figure that out eventually.

#2 He's Brave AF

Via flashingblade.net

Lemming-life (speaking in the metaphorical sense, before everyone jumps in all "Real lemmings don't actually behave that way"). That's what way too many people spend their lives doing, IMO. They follow some life road map forged by society or their parents or what they think will make them happy without really knowing the truth. And like the lemmings in the classic 80's/90's game, going that route will only make you fall off the cliff and die. Zayn knew 1D isn't where he should be and apparently he knew an engagement to Perrie wasn't the right choice for him either. I respect the F out of him for not sacrificing his own happiness and dreams for what, for lack of better words, was the "easy path." NEVER BE A LEMMING, PEOPLE!

#3 Relationships Are Complicated

I'm not naive enough to think that one BuzzFeed post is going to change the culture of celebrity relationship media scrutiny, but I urge everyone to do a quick "mile in his shoes" check. Relationships are hard and messy and no one other than he and Perrie know what really happened or what is going on in their own minds. You see a girl break down sad on stage and immediately she's the victim and he's the a-hole. You see him tweet about Little Mix vs 5H and immediately think #ZaynHasNoChill. Remember those social media posts you made after your last breakup? And then after some time and distance from the situation you think "Eh, I probably could have handled that better?" Same thing here. I couldn't even start to tell all the ways I was a massive, manipulative B in my early 20's relationship because I simply did not know any better. You live, you learn. "But he broke up with her via text!" you argue. I'd be surprised if he ever did it again and I guarantee he doesn't feel good about it now. Superstar-dom doesn't come with some magical "I know everything" capability, ya know?

#4 Can He Live?

For every great thing that social media has brought us, the fact that someone, somewhere is monitoring every single move a celeb makes for a story, for ad dollars, for an "exclusive" is terrifying. He favorites a Kylie photo so automatically he's trying to tap it. He follows Selena Gomez and ... well ... he's also automatically trying to tap it. This really goes back to the media and fanatic culture that creates these scenarios in the first place for anyone in the spotlight and isn't limited just to Zayn, obviously. But not every move he makes has to mean something and, even if it does mean something, maybe ease up and let him and everyone else just do their thing?

Via hiphoplogic.tumblr.com

#AmIRite

#5 Change Can Be Good

OneDirection / Via facebook.com

If you're a Directioner, I'm pretty sure you know deep down (if you really paid close attention over the years), that as many amazing moments and good times were had there was just something that seemed lacking in Zayn's enthusiasm for being there, starting from the X-Factor. Personally I think 1D gels much better with the current four. "Drag Me Down" is fire and I'm excited to see what Zayn's solo album sounds like (please, please work with The Weeknd and Miguel somehow!!!). It's amazing how many Directioners have turned completely anti-Zayn since March.

Salty Exhibit A

YOU DO YOU, ZAYN!!!!