• So, hey, at what age do I get to stop with the reciprocal niceties?
I GET that part of being an adult is dealing with people who are annoying, jerkfaces, on a powertrip, etc. BUT I also think that part of being an adult is realizing that you’re just NOT going to get along with everyone, right? Somewhere along the line, I tricked myself into thinking that being the ‘bigger’ person, being the one who was nice no matter what, was the route to go, and now I may be finally getting the bigger picture.
Two prime examples, real life and internet:
a) A collegue (a lady approximately my age, surprise!) at my new firm is consistantly rude to me. I can’t figure out if I dated her boyfriend or killed her pet in a prior life, but every single time I see her - automatic death stare then an eye roll to her friend (who is also a colleague). Super professional, yes? Either way, I’ve been trying to be nice, saying hi, holding doors open, etc. and I get nothing from her (them). It’s maddening.
b) Someone who is friends of a good friend follows me on the internet. This person and I are never (ever, ever - what’s up, TSwift) ever going to be friends, not really interested in even the idea of it. There’s a lot more to this story, but the point is that I reciprocated the follow in a moment of haste/weakness and now I would really like to unfollow, but now I’m worried about looking like the dick.
I don’t need/want/feel fulfilled with fake relationships. It has nothing to do with that. I think that somewhere deep down, we all have that urge to want to be liked. That’s why we’re here. On tumblr, facebook, twitter, instagram. It’s instant, real time, (almost) constant validation. I like being liked, but what I’m getting at is that I’m sick of being nice for no reason. I’m tired of being the one fake smiling as if it’s totally acceptable to behave their way in a professional environment. I’m annoyed that I’m fake “friends” with someone who I really could not care less about and don’t have the balls to just say no.
So what now? Just keep being nice? Say nothing? Say something? Be a bitch because sometimes, it just feels better? How OLD am I? When am I going to figure out that I don’t have to be everyone’s friend? Gah, is adult life the exact same as high school life, only with a (significantly larger) paycheck?
