Stuck in the Middle: What I learned the hard way
By Megan Baker
Last Updated:3:55 PM EST 4/22/09 Section: Lifestyles
Now that I'm at the end of my college career I decided to ask myself: what did I learn? I put myself in thousands of dollars worth of debt and came to the conclusion that the most important lessons I learned all happened outside of the classroom.
With this being my last column ever, I thought it might be nice to share my wisdom with you and help you avoid having to learn these lessons for yourself the way I had to … the hard way.
First, don't make a habit of over analyzing people. If someone tells you they only want to be friends, they mean it. Wasting your time picking apart every conversation you have had with this person or every text they have sent you won't change that. Accept the relationship for what it is and move on, because friendship is better than nothing even if you don't think so at the time.
Give your parents more credit. If they tell you someone isn't right for you, chances are they aren't. Your friends will tolerate that person because they love you; your parents won't for the same reason. If your parents feel something is off, take what they have to say into consideration. It might save you a lot of heartache in the end.
If you have a little brother or sister, try to stay in touch. Whether you know it or not, that kid back home truly loves you and looks up to you more than you'll ever realize. Giving them a bit of attention makes a big difference in their lives and you don't want to regret missing out on being there for them even if they do steal your signature dance moves or nicknames.
If your buddy locks his keys in his car and has to call AAA and the AAA guy tells you he's been working since five, don't tell him you've been drinking since seven. He will threaten to call the police and might even tell you how much he hates his mother. Trust me, it happens.
With that, if your car breaks down at three in the morning in the dead of winter and your friends are pushing your car to try to get it to work like in Little Miss Sunshine; AAA won't come and help you because technically, your car is in motion. Make your friends stop pushing the car like a bunch of morons and then tell the AAA person your car isn't moving anymore. They will probably come and help you after that. (At least I hope they would have...) Again, you are going to have to trust me on that.
With this being my last column ever, I thought it might be nice to share my wisdom with you and help you avoid having to learn these lessons for yourself the way I had to … the hard way.
First, don't make a habit of over analyzing people. If someone tells you they only want to be friends, they mean it. Wasting your time picking apart every conversation you have had with this person or every text they have sent you won't change that. Accept the relationship for what it is and move on, because friendship is better than nothing even if you don't think so at the time.
Give your parents more credit. If they tell you someone isn't right for you, chances are they aren't. Your friends will tolerate that person because they love you; your parents won't for the same reason. If your parents feel something is off, take what they have to say into consideration. It might save you a lot of heartache in the end.
If you have a little brother or sister, try to stay in touch. Whether you know it or not, that kid back home truly loves you and looks up to you more than you'll ever realize. Giving them a bit of attention makes a big difference in their lives and you don't want to regret missing out on being there for them even if they do steal your signature dance moves or nicknames.
If your buddy locks his keys in his car and has to call AAA and the AAA guy tells you he's been working since five, don't tell him you've been drinking since seven. He will threaten to call the police and might even tell you how much he hates his mother. Trust me, it happens.
With that, if your car breaks down at three in the morning in the dead of winter and your friends are pushing your car to try to get it to work like in Little Miss Sunshine; AAA won't come and help you because technically, your car is in motion. Make your friends stop pushing the car like a bunch of morons and then tell the AAA person your car isn't moving anymore. They will probably come and help you after that. (At least I hope they would have...) Again, you are going to have to trust me on that.
Be the first to comment on this story