Opinion
Insignificant complaining comparable to that of a plague
February 21, 2008
I’m not a fan of complaining. It’s annoying, it’s tedious, and it makes me want to get in your face and ask you to“shut the hell up.” So naturally, I’m going to complain about your complaining.
The weather. You’re living in Wisconsin, a state with four seasons. You know the order of the seasons, and, unless you’ve recently moved here within the last ten months, you know how unpredictable Wisconsin weather can be.
In the summer it can get blisteringly hot. In the winter it gets pathetically cold. It can rain at any time of the year for days on end. And since we all have a tendency to focus on the bad, the weather is rarely perfect. When it is perfect, it can never be for long enough.
I don’t like cold weather, but I find that when I don my full-length leggings underneath thick jeans and wear sweaters and scarves under my heavy jacket, it really isn’t so bad.
Suck it up, River Falls. This weather isn’t shocking news.
The upcoming election. If you cared, you voted. If you cared a lot, you were active in learning about the candidates. If you didn’t like other people caring about the candidate you didn’t support, you’re only human. If you got upset about other people supporting a candidate you despised, you’re being selfish.
You’ve forgotten that in the land mass of the United States of America, every individual is entitled to his or her opinion and has the option to speak out about that opinion.
You’ve also forgotten that your elementary school teacher taught you to be nice to others. And you’ve forgotten that your middle school teacher taught you to respect others and treat them as equals.
For some reason or another, you’ve decided to pick up a copy of this week’s Voice. And with that, you’re perfectly capable of making your own choices. But so is the other guy or girl. So let him or her make his or her own decision for his or her own reason during any election.
Maybe the decision of who to vote for comes from parents’ recommendation. Maybe the decision is based on how well the candidates exhibit themselves in debate. Maybe it’s because the candidate adheres to certain religion. It may be for a “right” reason or a “wrong” reason; nevertheless, it’s a reason. He’s going to vote for someone he is comfortable with, and she will too. You cannot decide that for them. Deal with it.
School (a.k.a. exams, quizzes, homework, going in general). You have three tests this week, a paper is due on Friday and you can’t find time to meet with your group to practice next week’s presentation. And chances are, this probably isn’t the first time it’s happened.
You signed up for the classes, you want the degree and this semester’s tuition is paid for. Figure out your priorities and decide what’s necessary to accomplish. If you don’t want to study, don’t, but then I don’t want to hear about how you didn’t do as well as you had expected. Take some responsibility of the consequences.
Life is full of choices and you’re going to have to give up things along the way. I’m not talking about your precious movie night—I believe in doing some things for oneself to retain sanity.
Maybe you can handle everything this week, but you just don’t feel like it. That’s the wonderful thing about college: you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. Just remember that there are hundreds of students who graduate with high grades; what will set you apart from them? What do you have to offer this world? What honestly makes you better than the others?
This month’s utility bill. Yes, to stay warm and keep your pipes from freezing, you’ll have to be running some heat into your house. If you refuse to drop the temperature below 70 degrees, think about other ways you can stay warm. Wear heavier/warmer clothes in your house and make sure you have on some thick socks. With the price of gasoline as high as it is, purchase a space heater that uses electricity instead of gas. And turn off the lights and appliances when they’re not in use.
Most recently I’ve complained about the consistent surprises of a dried substance found on the bottom of “clean” cups and glasses after I finish drinking some water.
Whether my roommates fail to properly wash their dishes or they just don’t give a shit, I have no idea. I will soon have moved my own set of eating utensils into my room for only my personal use. This way, if there is a speck of disgustingness, I will have no one to blame aside from myself.
If you are physically or mentally capable of fixing a problem that you may have, your complaining is unnecessary and absolutely pointless. Save the energy you’re tossing into the redundant words expelling from your flapping jaw and put it into solving your own problems. There’s a difference among the arts of complaining, grumbling, growling or whining and simply expressing dissatisfaction or discomfort. Pick a better way. I’d like to able to say that I go to school with college students rather than elementary children.
Abby Maliszewski is a student at UW-River Falls.