Living Happy

Lately I have had the unfortunate opportunity of being around negative people.

I have been contemplating writing this post for quite some time, then today in class I decided it was time.

A girl walked in a few minutes late and sat down. She is a very sweet girl, and she obviously is trying very hard to work her way though college. Most days she isn't put together, but she is clean and she smells good, so that counts - right? Today when she walked in, a group of girls in the corner sitting by me started giggling like teenagers and pointing at her outfit. It hurt my feelings for her, because it was rude, and very childish for a college student.

Note: Names have been changed to protect their dignity - what is left of it. :-)

In my opinion these negative people are defined as:

• the people who gossip about someone they have never had the pleasure of meeting or even holding a conversation with
  


• the people who knowingly start drama, or just do not think before speaking


• the crazy fast driver who cuts you off in traffic and nearly causes you to wreck


• the people who live in their own fantasy world and thinks their life is perfect....way more perfect than yours can ever be - and they let you know it!

I am friends with a great many of the persons listed above and I would love to share with you some real life examples of just what I am talking about.

The Gossip Queen
I have a friend who is this, she will tell you she isn't, but after 20 minutes around her - you know she's lying. I love her to death, but her constant gossip drives me insane.

Every time, every single time she calls me the conversation starts like this "Oh my God! You are not gonna believe this!!" (Can you hear it in her voice? Yeah?)

Then, she goes on about Tammy's sister's ex-boyfriends family who are "nasty people" and they are so mean to Tammy's sister. Guess what? I don't know who Tammy is, let alone her sister or the ex-boyfriends family - so why do I care? Please, remind me because I seem to be missing the point!

My favorite is "I heard that Tom and Maria were getting divorced". Oh really? Because Tom works with my Dad and he hasn't mentioned it. In fact, just last week Maria was telling my Mom that they were thinking about renewing their wedding vows for their 25th wedding anniversary. Then she says "Oh, well that's just what I heard".

She will never tell you who she heard it from.

Drama Starter / Insert Foot In Mouth
The people who start drama do it intentionally. We have all met them, they are the people who say snippy things in an attempt to get you to say something they can use against you later, or the people who make a big deal out of nothing. I encounter both types almost daily, and I've gotten pretty good at ignoring them.

The people who do not think before they speak are just idiots. Didn't their Mom tell them when they were little that they needed to "choose their words wisely"? My Mom did, maybe she should give lessons or something.

I encounter this all to often. A certain co-worker of mine is infamous for it. A lot of what we do deals with confidential personal information, but she talks about it to other women in the office. Then one of those women, usually one of those Drama Starters, will go tell the boss and "Little Miss. Innocent" (AKA I don't think before I speak) gets reprimanded and pissed off at everyone in the office.

I just stay in my little office and act like they're all crazy (because they are). I want to say "Just do your job and go home. Don't bring home to work or work home, it's a waste of time!"

Reckless Driver
People who have no regard for my safety or their own safety infuriate me. I am one of those people who drive ahead of myself, so if I see a tractor trailer 1/4 mile ahead I put my blinker on and get over. I don't jam on the gas and pass as many cars as I can then throw my car, without a blinker, in front of one of the cars I passed, just so I can avoid hitting the tractor trailer I knew about before I ever decided to pass. Get it? And if you're one of those people, don't tell me - because I won't like you and I want to like you all!

Perfect Fantasy
These people make me laugh. I have to assume they only act the way they do because they are trying to compensate for something else. Like, maybe they tell you how perfect their children are all the time because really their not.

I have a perfect example: My Mom works with a lady who she is also good friends with. Cindy has 2 daughters, Amanda and Patty. Amanda is 20, but her MySpace page says she is 23, and on it she boasts about getting into bars with her 'awesome fake id', she also posts status updates related to the use of illegal drugs. Then there is Patty, who is actually 23, and dated the same loser without a job for a couple of years. Then she decides that she's tired of him and gets a new boyfriend, and moves back in with Mommy and Daddy. After moving home and dating several different men, she discovers that she is pregnant. Oops! It ends up being the losers kid.

How do I know all this about Cindy's children? Because Cindy is friends with my Mom outside of work and she tells her, plus I do a little MySpace searching (stalking is such a terrible term).

When we go to lunch with a bunch of women from work, you would swear Cindy raised saints. She talks about her 'girls' and their lives, and how they like to attend church (they don't), and how they like to all do things together (never).

Get it? Cindy wants these people to think she raised great kids, because she knows she didn't and she feels guilty for it. She has told my Mom that, yet she finds the need to lie to people about them. I can't stand it. I avoid the situation totally.

Here is my point about all these people: They do not seem to realize how short life is, or that life should not be taken for granted. We should savor the times we have with our family and friends, and be grateful for all of our opportunities.

Just my opinion though. What do you think?
-BB