Jen's Crash Course on My Private Thoughts

People keep asking me why I don’t write anymore.  I do write, and I write often.  Sometimes I don’t like to share the things I write because I do a LOT of venting.  That venting keeps me from making passive-aggressive Facebook posts as well as keeping my temper in check.  Most people who really know me know that I can have a very explosive temper.  If you’re a glutton for punishment, keep reading.  If you have no desire to peek into an incredibly cluttered mind, feel free to close this tab out and cruise a different blog page.  Without any commercial interruption, here are the things that have been grating on my mind the most:

1

.        ENTITLEMENT!  There are always people you work with who slack because you’ll work twice as hard to compensate for their ineptitude.  Everywhere you look, there are horribly insolent teenagers that believe they can act any way they please (and generally do) because if you try to correct them, they’ll claim that you abuse them.  There are entirely too many people that believe that their birth ENTITLES them to certain things. 

2

.       LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY!  I don’t know when it happened, but somewhere between my parents’ generation and mine, people learned that they could do whatever they damn well please without any repercussion for their actions, and the next generation has perfected that practice.  Why?  Why aren’t we teaching our kids about actions, reactions and consequences?  Why aren’t we giving them a fixed set of consequences for specific actions?  Quite simply, why aren’t we teaching them right from wrong and how to be respectful, responsible adults?

3

.       INGRATITUDE!  I realize that a lot of people never stop to think twice about complaining incessantly, but I firmly believe that people should reflect on their blessings at least once a day.  Your children are making you crazy?  I’m sorry.  A lot of people can’t even have kids.  Other people have more money, a bigger house or a better car than you do?  I’m sorry.  There are probably at least a dozen people within 5 square miles of you that have NOTHING but the clothes on their backs, much less money, a car or a home.  Your boss is expecting you to work?  I’m sorry.  I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but this country suffered a huge economic blow about 4 years ago and the effects can still be felt today- a lot of people still have NO job, and that’s just here in the US.  There are forms of poverty worldwide that the average US citizen can’t even fathom.  I get it, people need to vent; however, please attempt to have a little bit of sensitivity about who you choose to be on the receiving end of your venting.  Words can really hurt, even unintentionally.

4

.       PASSIVE AGGRESSION!  I love Facebook, I really do, but why did it become a tool for airing dirty laundry and for delivering jabs at someone who has upset you?   I could go on about this particular annoyance for days.  I can’t imagine a single person who logs on regularly for the express purpose of finding out who is mad at who today, or to read about what someone’s ex has done to them, or really just about any other grievance.  In this day and age where there are more ways to stay “connected” than ever before possible, people have lost the ability to actually communicate with one another.  So they make vague status updates or Twitter posts so that the world may know how irritated you really are.  Why is it so difficult to just confront (whether in person or on the phone, NOT through text or email) another person and handle issues one on one?  When did we become such a race of cowards?

5

.       RACISM AND STEREO TYPING!  This may come as a shock to most, but not all Asians are rocket scientists who can’t drive, not all blacks are lazy and trying to cheat the system in some way, not all Latino people are in this country illegally and not all white people are rich and entitled.   We all have many differences, but those differences do not necessarily define an entire race.  Stop using the words “them” and “us” when speaking of different races, nationalities, religions or political affiliations.  I can’t tell you how many of my friends have made statements along the lines of, “If you’re not voting for Obama, then unfriend me now,” or “THEY always look out for THEIR own.”  Just stop it!  Everyone has a right to their own beliefs, feelings and faith (or lack thereof).  There is not a single person on this earth that is better or worse than any other.   Period.

6

.       COMPLAINING!  That one is funny coming from me, isn’t it?  I admit, I’ve done enough of it in my time, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to the realization that not everyone wants to hear (or even read) about my continuous run of “bad luck” or “problems”.  Everyone is absolutely fighting some kind of battle.  How you choose to carry yourself during those battles is entirely up to you.  I guess this is another reason why people should have a little sensitivity about other people before they unload all of their problems on other people.  The person you “vent” to may be in the middle of their own battle and that person just may be worse off than you are. 

I could probably keep going, but I think you probably get the idea as to why I haven’t been posting my writing lately.  My mother always said if I didn’t have anything nice to say, then I shouldn’t say anything at all.  I’ve been trying to apply that to my writing as well.  She and my father also taught me that I should use my brain and thing before I open my mouth to speak.  A lot of people would say that these things shouldn’t bother me so much, or that I take things too personally.  Maybe that’s true.  I know that I certainly can’t change how others behave, so I make a conscious effort each day to be the best person that I can be, and I treat each person I meet as if they have the same goal.