October 4, 2014

Prompt: Write for 10 minutes using "I used to think..." as your starter.

I used to think the world was a simple place. Everything was straightforward and you could tell who was genuine and who wasn't. It's not that easy. The world isn't a black and white place. Most of it lies within the grays. There are a lot of both good and bad people, you just have to figure out which is which.

At my job, I get some really hateful people come through. You can do your best to be polite and have a smile on your face. They just scoff and you and tell you to quite looking so happy. Those people, to me, seem to be the saddest. They're cranky for no reason and don't enjoy the beautiful things in life.

Then, I see people who are the exact opposite. They ask me how I'm doing and you can tell they actually care. I've had customers pay for a person's groceries without even having met the other person before. They just do it out of the kindness of their heart and say they'd hope someone would do the same for them if they ever needed it. These people restore my faith in humanity.

I also used to think that when a friendship was strong enough, it could last anything. That when everyone parts ways after high school, it wasn't really over. You'd still see all of your old gang just like you used to. This isn't the case. You only see the friends that care enough to make the effort to continue being an active part of your life. Even then, it's impossible to see them everyday. There's too much going on in life for that to be a possibility. It's more of a matter of being able to see them once a month and keeping in contact with them a few times a week. It's not much, but it's something. I've come to realize the term "always" is more of an overstatement than a promise. I've already learned many valuable life lessons in the few short months I've been out of school. It's a whole new world.