[Day 44] It’s Cold

Unassertive people. We all know them, even if we don’t talk to them. But they’re there. In the corners of the library, in the back of classrooms, or sitting alone in the center of the cafeteria. They pretend not to care, but they do.

I know one of these people quite well, not because he particularly wants to know me, but because I enjoy forcing myself upon said unassertive people. Look, guys, I know what it’s like. I was that kid once. And I hated it. So this is just my contribution to the unassertive society. I’m like a Born-Again Assertive. Hee.

Off topic. It’s getting late. Wow. Anyways. So this kid and I have a first hour release together. He sits with me out of either convenience or disgust, I’m not sure which. And I’m going to be honest, this kid kind of ticks me off a lot. He’s one of those obnoxious people without a filter, and he doesn’t understand social interaction. Now, I’m in no place to say what’s socially acceptable, and I understand that, but this kid pushes even my limits. Admittedly, there have been many instances where I lose my temper with him and act like the people I so despise just because he doesn’t understand when he’s being annoying.

Today he mentioned -and I’m not sure how it came up- that he was extremely unhappy. I asked him why. He told me he wasn’t interesting, and that he wanted to be a writer but he was bad at writing. I had things to do and I could have just let him wallow, but this bothered me. I don’t like it when people are down on themselves for no reason. “It’s not about being happy with the crap life throws at you. It’s about accepting that some days are just going to be crap and moving on.” What I actually said was longer and less intelligible, but I think he got the point. He mentioned something about not having friends. “If you really think the value of your life is measured in the number of your friends, then you have some reorganizing of priorities to do. Anyways, I’m your friend. I’m trying to be your friend right now. But the thing is, you’re resiting me. You’re always being rude to me. But I get over it because that’s what friends do. You just have to talk to people. That is how you make friends, pal.”

As I continued to probe him about why exactly he was unhappy, he suddenly stopped. “Thank you.” he told me. “You’ve given me a whole new perspective on life.”

Obviously, people don’t just say things like that. “Are you being sarcastic?” I asked, my brow furrowed.

“No, I’m not. You’re right. I really don’t have anything to be unhappy about. So, thank you.”

“Uh… you’re welcome.”

And that’s that.

Although there’s still the off chance that he was being sarcastic, but I don’t really care. I told him straight out that I was his friend, and sometimes, that’s all we need.