I guess I will start this blog in a lighthearted manner with
some things to think about if you live in an apartment.
1.
Tap dance lessons on carpet are still tap dance
lessons. Your downstairs neighbor can hear you. At least go tap in the parking
lot.
2.
Be conscious of the food you cook. It is
unpleasant for me to walk in my door and think that maybe you are painting your
walls in stinky food. No amount of scented wax can cover it up. Just FYI.
3.
If you have careless kids in the car with you,
open their door for them. That way they don’t slam their door into my car. That
I pay for. Teach them respect and the value of other people’s property. I’m
still not over the ding in my door.
4.
When taking a SLOW stroll around the complex,
move out of the dang way if a car is coming. Yes, pedestrians have the right of
way. But there is no considerate reason for you to walk in the center of the
parking lot with your kid running around like a crazy person, making it
impossible to pass. I cuss at you for this.
5.
I spray for bugs in my apartment like a crazy
person. I’m not the OCD cleaning lady most of the time, but my apartment is
clean-ish. So it really upsets me when unclean people live around me and I run
into an occasional disgusting bug in the hallway. One even came in my apartment
before.
6.
Yes. Lauren Hill was cool when I was about 7.
It’s 2013. Find something new. I swear if I hear that song one more time I
might get a little crazy.
I guess that’s all I have on that subject for
now.
And for my gays who were at the Pride parade this weekend.
Here’s a few notes for you.
1.
You can duck down behind as many cars as you
want. Pot still stinks. So do it in your own space.
2.
I get that it’s hot. But I don’t want to see or
accidentally rub up against your butt hanging out, belly hanging over, rainbow
panties or undies or whatever those guys wear. So drink some water and
understand that tens of thousands of people are in a small space. Your skin is
dirty to me. Keep it to yourself.
3.
Yelling vulgar things at us does not entice us to
throw you a 25-cent pair of beads. It makes me want to punch you in the throat.
Go pay a stripper to show you her boobs. I only do that when it’s for a bit.
Idiots.
I guess that’s all I have to say about that.
Amber posted or said something the other day that has played
in my head over and over and over. Plain and simple. Haters are gonna hate.
That’s a harsh reality to face in life. But you know what? Suck it up and do
it. Accept the fact that not everyone in
this life is going to see the positive in you. They’re going to be blinded by
outside influences or just sheer bitterness in their heart and use you as the
target to let out some of their self-hate. I know this because I’ve done it.
Many times before. But then I grew up.
There’s a lot to be said for developing a mature state of
mind. Just because you turn 18 doesn’t mean you’re mature. Or 21. Or 30 for
that matter. There is no specific set life event that takes you from a simple-minded
person to a mature one. I’ve seen 14
year olds who have more maturity than any adult I’ve met. Which is sad for
both. A 14 year old should be worried about boys or girls and text messages and
stupid stuff like that. It’s pretty sad the way that life turns out for some
people, but that’s the hand we’re dealt.
I was doing something yesterday in my apartment and had Teen
Mom or 16 and Pregnant on in the background. And I’m listening to these people
who have produced the future of our world taking their baby daddy to court over
Tweets. A dad with a newborn misses two months of his babies life because he’s
gotta go to rehab to kick his drug habit. It’s especially sad to me after
seeing my sister and brother in law lose their baby boy. I don’t know if rehab
worked or not. If it did, then good for him for doing what he needed to do in
an effort to be a potentially better dad. If not, what a waste of a gift from
God. Seriously. Shame on him for missing out on that time because he was
wasting it at a facility.
Anyway, my mind is moving faster than my fingers can type. Back
to the whole haters thing. I was thinking about this today while I was standing
in a really long line at the store. The lady in front of me had a toddler in
the little booster seat thingy you strap kids into. The kid was upset over
something the kid the next line over said. And the mom did nothing to console
her kid. And then after the husband came to the checkout line, she stopped the
checker from doing what she needed to and told her husband about the adorable
fit their kid just threw. On spec I didn’t like these people. I know nothing
about them. And frankly it didn’t matter to me. Actions speak louder than words
and this mothers actions just seemed unreal to me. Next thing I know I get to
my car and who comes to the truck next to me? This mom, dad, and daughter. I
turn my car on and get ready to back out. Reverse lights on. I see the mom look
at the back of my car. It would make sense to pick up the daughter, get out of
my way, and let me leave. But she didn’t do this. Instead she lets the kid rub up
against my car, opens the driver side door and the back door thing, waits for
the kid to climb in, lets the kid play in the truck for a minute, puts her in
her seat, the readjusts the front seat, fixes the lanyard that held her keys,
leaves the doors open, walks to the back of the truck, waits for the husband to
return the basket. THEN she walks around, doors still open, and I have to wait
for the husband to get in, put his seatbelt on, and close the doors.
During this inconsideration, I posted on my Facebook that
I’m out of patience for the day. I was a little upset with myself for getting
so irritated by complete strangers. But at the same time, common courtesy goes
a seriously long way. They even tried to back out before I did! But I made sure
that didn’t happen.
The point of that story is that I didn’t even give these
people a chance to prove that they could be considerate. And honestly, why
would I? I don’t know them. I’ve never seen them before and will likely never
see them again. I cannot possibly get to know the millions of people in this
country. So should I feel guilty for judging them the way that I did?
I guess it’s different when a stranger shows blatant
disregard for you versus someone you have regular contact with. Maybe it’s a
friend of a friend. Like Bridesmaids. Annie didn’t really give Helen a real
chance to prove herself until the end of the movie. And to some degree Helen
deserved what she got. She made it pretty obvious that she was trying to
belittle Annie. So yeah, you get what you give in that scenario. But what about
people who decide they don’t like you based on nothing? I know that in the job
I’m in people are going to hate. And honestly that’s perfectly OK with me. I
would much rather be loved or hated than have people feel indifferent about me.
But in my little world, where I’m trying to be the best person I can be and I’m
still not given a chance, it sucks. But at the same time it drives me. Is that
a sick, cyclical way of living life? To try and gain the respect of people who
have zero reason to deny you that in the first place? Wasted energy? It’s like
beating your head against a wall and the wall just won’t give. Very
frustrating.
I guess that’s just life. And you really have to look at it
this way…if you’re worthy of this thought process. It’s their loss. I know what
I have to offer. I know what I want to give. The only thing in this world that
I have any amount of control over is myself. And staying calm and rational so
that I don’t give the haters a reason to hate. I’m better than that, right?
Social media is such a blessing and a curse. It keeps us in
touch with people near and far. We can check up on our loved ones without them
knowing we do it. But it’s also a whole new way of spreading hate. It’s strange
how one single message from a person can change everything. For better or for
worse. Facebook brought Amber into my life. Yea that. But Facebook also opens
up everyone’s world to whatever words some coward chooses to type. I’ve been
threatened, harassed, hurt, blessed, and all other types of things through
social media. I guess you have to take the bad with the good, but man does it
SUCK at times.
I guess the moral of this long thing is to keep in mind the
power of your words. And the power of your silence. Follow your gut when it
comes to the people you allow in your world. As horrible as it is, there are a
lot of people in our lives who have been wolves in sheep’s clothing for a long
time. It’s what we know and learn to accept as familiar. And maybe we even
allow them to make us a little bit of a wolf, too. Familiar does not equal
right. Change is scary, but sometimes when you open your eyes and see who you
allow to stand in front of you, you realize what you’re missing out on by
allowing them that space. It’s hard to earn people’s respect, but it’s
impossible when you’re not even given the opportunity. But that’s a lesson I’ve
learned throughout my years and, in my opinion, a sign of true maturity.
Because, after all, when someone shows you who they are, you should just go on
and believe them. A wolf will hunt down its prey and take down everything and
everyone in its path. So it’s up to us to avoid them altogether.
And I guess that’s all I have to say about that.
Shanon
