Over the last month or two, I've seen some changes in people I'm not ashamed to say that I don't particularly condone.

What does that mean, exactly? Does it mean I'm tired of dealing with these people? Does it mean these people are, inherently, jerks that I shouldn't have dealt with in the first place? Does that mean I feel like I'm wasting my friendship on people that don't deserve it? To all, I respond in the negative. All of these, however, are typical of what I'm talking about: rampant overreaction.

In other words, everyone needs to calm the hell down.

For the most part, given where a lot of my Penn State friends are in their lives, it is understandable to see such (over)reaction. Many of my friends are a year younger than me and are going through the process I went through when I graduated (or, in some cases, dealing with the graduation of others). It's a trying time. I know. Still, people would do well to remember these things (and I address this to anyone who reads this, simply because these are good things to remember):

- You don't have to apologize for who you are. More over, you don't have to apologize for who your friends are. Both of these, ultimately, are on you and you don't have to account for any of it. This isn't to say that, if they express a concern, you shouldn't give your point of view. Merely that each person has a certain amount that is up to them (and only them) to determine. Once they do, they'll carry on.

- Listen to what people have to say. Ninety percent of arguements that I've witnessed ever have stemmed from the fact that people just refuse to listen to what they're being told. I'm guilty of this too, I know, but if someone says "I need this" then don't turn around and give them something else. Give them what they say they need or walk away. There are certain exceptions to this, but such genuine examples are few and far between. When I had a mild addiction to caffiene my freshman year, I thought I "needed" things like pepsi and mountain dew at all hours of the night. It wasn't until people started insisting on me drinking water more often that I slowly started to move off of the bad stuff. Those with similar problems would be wise to follow the advice of their friends.

- Advice is a two way street. Don't assume that your advice is the be all, end all of existance. This goes back to point one. That said, if you're only asking people because you want to hear something specific, do everyone a favor and slap yourself...preferably as hard as you can. You likely just saved yourself the trouble of your friends doing just that (either to themselves or to you). Advice is friendly help that may or may not provide some clarity. If it does, say thank you and take the advice. If it doesn't, say "thank you, but that doesn't really help." This will go a long way to keeping bridges from burning.

- Finally, before you get into an argument about something, STOP AND THINK. Is this REALLY worth getting upset over? Will I regret this later? Is it worth expending the energy to be upset over this? Is there another way to go?

I swear, if this happened, I'd be a lot happier. It's likely you'll agree with me.

Marc-An excellent commentary andrew. I am definitely guilty of some of the things you mentioned in the article, but you provided "good advice" on how to deal with with these things. I suppose if we just took sometime out in our lives, to think about how minor things are and how we're overreacting, then even in these stressful times, everyone will be happy.

--Andrew-Oh the irony! An overreactive commentary about not overreacting! I'm glad you liked it (I think), though I didn't mean to trivialize anything nor suggest that it would be the panacea for all of the stresses and ills that have befallen you all this past year. I do think it'd help, though. BACK