Mind Your Manners

Lately I have been noticing people lack of common courtesy, which to me means it's not so common any more. It's a disturbing trend. I cannot count the number of times I have seen people skip someone else's turn at a stop sign because they couldn't wait the (literally) less than five seconds for the other person to go. This almost causes a lot of car accidents, too. It is not just in our cars where you are less likely to make eye contact with someone else that people are so brave and rude. It is also often in person. I was walking out of a doorway the other day and a girl came busting in from around the corner. Rather than let me finish exiting the doorway she ran into me and pushed me out of the way so she could get through.

People are so in their own worlds that they could care less about what is going on in the space that we all have to share. This is why there are so many car accidents and angry people running around. Because people are so blatantly rude!

Everyone just needs to stop and notice that they aren't the only one with problems, with a place to be, with a schedule. There is no need to yell at someone else in the car when it was really your fault in the first place.

A few things I have noticed lately that surprised me a bit:
-A barista was surprised when I asked her how her day was and thanked her for taking my order.
-A cop on his cell phone turned on his lights to run a red light and then turned off his lights once he got through the light. (But who hasn't seen that one?)
-A guy walked his dog onto my lawn to go to the bathroom rather then to the grass on the side walk, then stepped off the lawn when I walked from my car to my door, then went back onto the lawn so his dog could go on my lawn after I walked into the house, but was standing next to the window.
-Almost every day people ride their bikes down the middle of the lane rather than sharing the road like the cars do.

I feel like I should be more surprised than I am, but people in general seem to have reached a new level of self-involvement. I wonder why that is and how we got to this point? I am not saying that everyone is like this, but I have noticed it a lot lately and it has made me much more aware of my own level of courtesy and I am constantly sure to keep myself in check.

It's been a while

Life is always busy and stress is inevitable. What matters is how you deal with it because chances are, it's going to stay that way for a very long time to come.

Lately life has been very busy and stressful. I work all the time, I have a ton going on at school, too many tests and papers to juggle. Luckily, C's get degrees! The good thing about working all the time is that portfolios and experience get jobs, which I already have so is that one less thing to worry about or one more thing to worry about? I like my job so I am going to take it as one less thing to worry about.

Here are a few ways I have been dealing with stress, hopefully this can be helpful to someone else:
-Stop for 30 seconds and breathe deeply. If you need a minute, take a minute. If you need five or ten, take it. In the end five to ten minutes won't make or break your schedule, but it can make or break you.
-Laugh as often as possible. If no one is making you laugh or you can't think of anything funny, find something, the internet is literally at your fingertips.
-Hug someone you love, this includes your pets!
-Smile, it will make you feel better.
-Realize that a lot of things are outside of your control, but control what you can. (If you are like me) write everything down, use a calendar and to-do lists, plan ahead but be flexible. Change happens so just accept it.
-Be outside in the sun as much as you can. Or be inside in the sun. Just get some sunshine in your life!
-Believe in yourself no matter what.
-Love what you are doing, even if you don't love it all of the time.