Here’s some wisdom worth heeding: know your place. You might think you know everything, but you’re clearly blindsided by the arrogance of youth. And as a 30-year-old, I simply won’t stand for slanderous accusations from you, my 29-year-old roommate.
Does the term “respect your elders” mean nothing to you? Did you not stop to think that, instead of baselessly attacking me for “never paying rent on time” and “vomiting on your bedroom carpet in an Everclear and Ambien-fueled haze,” you could reflect on your own path and where you had room for growth?
Clearly not, because all those hours spent doing meal prep and studying for nursing school sadly means you minimize the vital need for self-reflection. After all, why try and cultivate humility when you can just chew out your roommate – who has seen a bit more of this world than you have – for “stacking a bunch of fucking styrofoam containers on top of the stove”? I believe in fire safety as much as the next person. But more than anything, I believe in civility. And that’s only something you can learn first-hand through the treacherous journey that is Life.
Maybe your generation is so high on call-out culture and the rush it provides that you don’t realize how fleeting it all actually is. Sure, it might be an ego boost to tell me I’m not supposed to use Clorox wipes to clean the silverware — a decision I still stand by, no matter what the label says. But you can only chase that dragon for so long before it ultimately consumes you. I am by no means perfect. But at least I was raised to take a proverbial walk in another’s shoes before castigating them with a reckless tongue.
I know you might think that you’ve figured things out. But take it from someone who’s seen everything you have and more: you haven’t. When the day comes when you’re banned from seven different bars for property damage, I promise I will show you so much more grace than you’re showing me. Why? Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my 30 years on this little blue dot, it’s that grudges are a waste of both time and emotion.
Oh, it’s your birthday? Never mind.