Always Right Syndrome

I'm currently sitting in a room with my computer. I was working on typing up mythology notes, but the conversation going on in the room is just too much for me to resist talking about. There are two people working together on a project. I don't understand everything they're talking about, but one thing is clear. One of them has "always right syndrome." We'll call him Keith, and the other guy is Brad. Yeah, that will work. So Keith is asking Brad for his help using a program that he doesn't fully understand. That's perfectly legitimate. The problem is that anytime Brad tries to ask a question or explain something, Keith interrupts saying that Brad is wrong and not listening. It's funny how Keith is asking Brad for help, but evidently Keith is such an expert on the program that he knows Brad is completely wrong. Another thing, Brad has some mental limitations that Keith is fully aware of, but Keith isn't taking this into account. He is too busy yelling and being "superior" to Brad to care about these limitations. The fun part of it is that Keith has a friend, Trevor, who has all sorts of "limitations" that explain why he is so incredibly annoying all the time. Evidently, he now has a new disability that is affecting him at work that he has had since he was born, but nobody had ever heard about until now. This seems to happen a lot. Even brad questioned the legitimacy of this newest limitation. Oh the hypocrisy that always seems to be present in my life. Gotta love it.

The 3 Hardest Things to Say

A long time ago, I heard or read something that said the three hardest things to say. They are: 1. I love you. 2. I'm sorry. 3. I need help. I definitely don't think this holds true anymore (at least not for the first 2). A lot of people pass these phrases around with absolutely no meaning behind them.

The phrase "I love you" used to mean so much more than it does now. It used to be such a huge moment in a serious relationship. Now, we say it to anybody we just happen to be friends with or somebody who does something nice for us. It's not a problem to say it anymore because the meaning behind it has faded. I went back through my text messages. In the last month, I have 20 messages of somebody saying they love somebody else. I'm 100% guilty of it too.

"I'm sorry" has become a part of my everyday life. In those same text messages, I found 77 instances of somebody saying they're sorry for something. Sorry is so common anymore again because the true meaning of it has been lost. Go up to somebody and tell them you truly apologize for (insert whatever you said/did here). It's a little bit harder isn't it? That's because it actually means something. That's what "I'm sorry" is supposed to feel like.

My third phrase is a little different. I think the difficulty of this phrase definitely depends on the person and the situation. Some people never ask for help. Some ask for help on everything! I like to think I'm somewhere in the middle. I prefer to do things myself, but I'll ask for help if I know I can't. It's a lot easier to ask somebody for help moving furniture than a drug problem. (No, I don't know from personal experience, but if you don't believe me, try it for yourself and find out.)

Maybe we need a new top 3 hardest things to say because these more than likely are not at the top of the list anymore.

Reconnecting With Old Friends

Note: This was originally written on February 8th, 2010

Last week, I was laying in my bed with nothing to do (I wish I could say the same this week) when i decided to text a bunch of friends and see how everybody was doing. I went out messages to 20 people. Most of them eventually responded. I carried on conversations with them for a while. It was good to hear from people after such a long time. Some of my conversations were starting to die down. Then, my phone rang.

I looked at my my phone to see who was calling and was thoroughly surprised to see Nolan Hancock's name on my screen. Nolan and I met in sixth grade and were such great friends all through school. Unfortunately, we both got super busy at different colleges and hadn't really talked since the end of last summer. I was so excited to hear from him. We got to talk for a while about school and how life in general was going. He caught me up on everybody back home. It was so great to talk with him again. We spent 7 years together. He was a big part of my school life. We were a lot closer than either of us would admit. It felt good to talk to him again.

So what's the lesson in this? Don't let school or distance get in the way of staying connected with friends. And if you do, fix it! Those connections are so important. Don't let them fade away.

And so it begins

So I've been working on some different random topics trying to really get going on my writing. I finally have enough to feel comfortable posting. Hopefully, I can actually get consistent with this. Maybe even one every day! That'd be awesome. Well... Let's see where this goes.

Former Relationships: How Do Their Outcomes Vary? (Written February 8th, 2010)

The last few days have really had me thinking about how I get along with my ex-boyfriends. Just the last two alone show how vast of a difference there can be. They are complete polar opposites. One couldn't have worked out better. The other couldn't be worse.

The first one, I dated for 4 months. We've been broken up for almost a year now, but he's one of my closest friends. We just get each other and we get along too well not to be friends. Anytime I'm home, I make sure to spend time with him even if it's just goofing around or watching movies. We're the kind of friends who don't have to be doing anything to have fun. I can talk to him about anything and he knows he can talk to me. No matter what, we always end up laughing and having a great time. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have him as a friend. He gets frustrated with me for it sometimes, but anytime I have a problem, I go to him because he isn't going to sugar-coat anything. If I'm being a total idiot, he'll tell me. I'm the same way with him. I really think that honesty and trust is the key to our friendship. We had a great relationship while it lasted, and while I was upset about the breakup, it ended on good terms. Once I got over the heartbreak, our friendship really strengthened. I'm so thankful for that.

Then there's the more recent one. We dated for about three months and have been broken up for about that long. It was an awful breakup with a lot of drama. We used to spend every day together. Now, we barely even speak. I never would have imagined things would be like this between us, but that's how it worked out. We haven't had a real conversation for months. All we do is fight. It amazes me how two people can go from being inseparable to not being able to be around each other. I saw him walking from class today. This isn't the first time I've passed him, and not once have we acknowledged the existence of the other. I suppose we have a mutual agreement of cutting each other out of our lives. Maybe one day we'll be able to get along, but for now I don't see that happening. The sad part of it is that I'm perfectly ok with that.

Of course, I have had other past relationships. I am friends with some. Others, I haven't talked to in a long time. It really just depends on how I knew them. Some people are only meant to be in your life temporarily. Others will be there for a lifetime. I hope all those I no longer am in contact with are doing well, and I hope those I still have friendships with will be my friends forever.

So what's your experience with this? Any thoughts?