Life in America | Teen Ink

Life in America

October 4, 2010
By Anonymous

It’s a hard question, really. Stupid people, for one. People who talk too loud, people who talk too quiet. Especially people who yell at me while screaming by at mach four in their car. There are plenty of stupid people in this world, but, unfortunately, not all of them are truly stupid, merely ignorant or naïve.
One thing I’ve noticed about people like that is there constant ignorance about reality. They just never really see the world for what it is, instead seeing the phantom world from their own mind. The worst part is, they choose to do this. They choose to ignore the fact that, no, cars do not have the right of way on sidewalks. They conveniently forget that you can’t just say anything you want in public. They seem to not want to acknowledge the fact that some people have opinions. A friend of mine made up a very good analogy about opinions; I cannot say what it is (Just trust me). To stupid people, I say this: open your eyes! Or at least slow down when you speed by screaming so I can throw a brick at your car.
Of course, stupid people aren’t the only things that make me angry. Another thing that makes me angry is people who never shut up about what ticks them off, so, instead, I’m going to talk about something nice for a change.
For instance, yesterday, someone held the door open for me. Yes, I know it doesn't sound like much, but in the world we live in today, it's amazing. Now, I'm not going to go off on how rude our society is getting, not only am I trying to stay positive, but I never really lived in any other society to compare ours with. But it really is the little things that count. Someone apologizing when they bump into you. Someone holding the door open for you, or saying thank you when you hold it open for them.
These small things all make life better. We all have good days and bad days, and the one thing I know to help a bad day: politeness. If I'm upset, or angry (see above...) each and every small act of politeness just seems to wash a bit of the bad feelings away. And then there's the flip side of the coin; being polite. Niceness isn't a one-way exchange, you giving someone some of your happiness. It helps you too.
It's amazing what people can do with manners, a little bit of cheerfulness, and just a tad of determination. You can change the world.
So go out and hold the door for someone. Help them pick up the stuff they dropped in the hall. Or just say thank you to people who do nice things for you. I, for one, believe that niceness is something you can't encourage enough.


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