(and we all need to know)
There are some things that we should probably be learning in school, or somewhere kinder than how we do learn it... some never learn and are sad and confused or angry and frustrated their whole lives living in some illusion that the world owes them something... this popped into my email and if you haven't learned (or taught your kids) these things by now, get started... Rule #1 Rule #2 Rule #3 Rule #4 Rule #5 Rule #6 Rule #7 Rule #8 Rule #9 Rule #10 Rule #11 Rule #12 Rule #13 Rule #1 Life is not fair. Get used to it. The average teen-ager uses the phrase "it's not fair" 8.6 times a day. We got it from our parents, who said it so often we decided they must have been the most idealistic generation ever and when we look at them now we wonder what happened to them. When they started hearing it from their own kids, Rule #1 became very real. Try to do better than they did so you don't have to wait for your kids to teach it to you. BACK TO TOP NEXT RULE Rule #2 The real world won't care as much about your self-esteem as your school does, and your school doesn't really care that much about you personally... but it is easier to get just about everything while in school. After school's out for good, the world will expect you to accomplish something before giving you anything, so if outside rewards are how you feel good about yourself, you're wrong. This may come as a shock. Usually, when inflated self-esteem meets reality, we complain that it's not fair. (See Rule No. 1) LAST RULE BACK TO TOP NEXT RULE Rule #3 Love does not come in a in a nice neat package tied up with a pretty bow. People are not hanging around after school to meet you. Most people are too scared of failing to remember to smile and so focused on surviving they forget how to have fun. A few minutes is enough time to enjoy life, especially when that is all the free time you have. If you die before your body does, it is your choice. It is not often easy, but you can keep reaching out and build a happy social life and find romance. Or you can sit home alone and feel sorry for yourself. It is your choice. LAST RULE BACK TO TOP NEXT RULE Rule #4 You probably won't make $40,000 a year (circa 2000) right out of high school. And you won't be a vice president or have an easy life either. You may even have to wear a uniform that doesn't have a designer label. And you'll stay in that uniform at about minimum wage for the rest of your life if you're not ready, willing, and able to start at the bottom, eat dirt, kiss ass, and climb your way to the top through long hours, self-sacrifice, and focusing on a concrete goal. The best you can do is enjoy what you do. LAST RULE BACK TO TOP NEXT RULE Rule #5 If you think your teacher is tough, wait 'till you get a boss. A boss doesn't have tenure, so he tends to be a lot edgier. When you screw up, he is not going ask you how feel about it, he will tell you how he feels about it and he probably won't feel good. Since he is what will keep a roof over your head and food in your stomach (not to mention fun in your life), you probably will feel worse. Try to keep the boss happy. Try to become your own boss. LAST RULE BACK TO TOP NEXT RULE Rule #6 Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping. They called it opportunity. They weren't embarrassed making minimum wage either. Of course your grandparents did not have grandparents or parents that, if necessary, could support them until they were 30. Make the most of your opportunities and try to see you are lucky to have them, for they are your first step towards real independence and freedom. LAST RULE BACK TO TOP NEXT RULE Rule #7 It's not your parents fault. Well, not all of it... but the sooner you let go of their mistakes the faster you'll stop repeating them and start being able to make your own, and learn from them. If you screw up, you are responsible. This is the flip side of "It's my life," and "You're not the boss of me," and other eloquent proclamations we shout as pass through puberty. When you turn 18, it's on your dime. Don't whine about it or you'll sound like a baby boomer or yuppie. LAST RULE BACK TO TOP NEXT RULE Rule #8 Before you were born your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way paying their bills, yours too, and trying to make a comfortable life for you to grow up in. Try to remind them about music and art and life, but don't hate them for forgetting - they hate themselves enough already for leaving their youthful dreams and ideals behind. LAST RULE BACK TO TOP NEXT RULE Rule #9 Before you save the rain forest from the blood-sucking parasites of your parents' generation try getting real about your own room, diet, and buying habits. Nobody would be pillaging the Earth's resources if there wasn't a big market for the stuff. LAST RULE BACK TO TOP NEXT RULE Rule #10 Be nice to nerds. You will probably end up working for one. We all might. They may lack the social skills to be popular in the sheltered environment of school, but what makes them laughable in school is exactly what will make them successful in the real world. As shocking as it sounds, you can learn a lot from a nerd. LAST RULE BACK TO TOP NEXT RULE Rule #11 Life is not divided into semesters, and you don't get summers off. Nor even Easter break. They expect you to show up every day. For eight hours, sometimes more. And you don't get a new life every 10 weeks. It just goes on and on. If you aren't creative enough to keep yourself interested and inspired, you will become your parents. That is what happened to them. LAST RULE BACK TO TOP NEXT RULE Rule #12 Television is not real life. Your life does not come with an interesting ensemble cast or a clever script. Life is not a sitcom or a teenage angst drama, that's entertainment. Your problems will not all be solved in 30 or 60 minutes, minus time for commercials. In real life, you must create your story and cast it yourself. You won't always know the right thing to say or do. The hero does not always win. People actually have to leave the coffee shop or bedroom to go to jobs. Your friends will not be perky or as polite and your support network will not always be there before the end of the day. Watch your television, live your life. LAST RULE BACK TO TOP NEXT RULE Rule #13 Enjoy this while you can. Sure, parents are a pain, school's a bother, and life is depressing. But someday you'll realize how wonderful it was to be there. Maybe you should start now. Of course you could wait until it's just a memory you try to re-create in the real world only to find yourself disillusioned, depressed, and broken because you did not learn these rules. LAST RULE BACK TO TOP ODD END INDEX CROSSROADS MORE ODD ENDS  EMAIL
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