It's all good

In the past two weeks, I received a ticket for using my cell phone while driving, which caused me to miss a quiz. I fried my cell phone to death in a cup of water, so it lost every bit of information it held; my dog ate at least three pairs of my favorite shoes; I spilled a drink on my notes and then broke my boyfriend's laptop on his birthday; I have undoubtedly humiliated myself in public at least five times due to my worst enemy – black ice.
Now, what do all of these unfortunate situations have in common?
Yes, I grumbled and complained about them all as if I were the only person on earth these things ever happen to, but that's not the only similarity I'm looking for.
The correct answer would be that all of these things were my fault, plain and simple.
As I go through my day-to-day routine, it is becoming increasingly apparent to me that I complain… a lot. Granted, the things I've just mentioned are all incredibly miserable and would understandably call for some moans, groans and grumpy moods, but the point is they all could have been avoided had I just been a little more careful.
Sure, a lot of people tend to whine or bask in self-pity when inconvenient things shimmy themselves smack dab in the middle of our way, but I think it's time a lot of people – myself included – learn to pick our battles and admit when we screw up.
Complaining about legitimate misfortunes is one thing; in fact, it's expected, if you ask me. But when I blatantly hop in my car attempting to get from South Campus to North Campus in 15 minutes, then slap my iPhone to my ear when my hands-free headpiece is right next to me, I'm asking for it.
Of course, I gave the officer attitude as if it were his fault I did all of these things, and was appalled that he was doing his job correctly to my disadvantage. Of course I raced home cursing all the way, only to vent to my roommates. Of course I completely deserved that ticket.
It's so easy sometimes to only see situations from the ‘woe is me' perspective. When people screw up big time, they don't want to immediately blame themselves; they want a shoulder to whine on. To hell with diamonds, venting is a girl's best friend.
While true, this doesn't make it reasonable all of the time. I don't care if you're Dr. Drew; no one wants to listen to pointless complaining about something that could have been prevented. It seems to me that if we all just slowed down and smelled the roses a little more, we'd probably have less to complain about.
There are much more serious issues in the world that others don't even say a word about, and yet here I am with steam coming out of my ears because my roommates left the Brita empty again.
I have my issues that deserve a friend to lend an ear, as I'm sure all of my readers do, too, but no more of the nonsense.
Reality is here and it's hitting me hard. Maybe this means I've finally matured, or maybe I'm well on my way to finding my Zen place. Either way, it's about time I try and work on zipping my lips during certain circumstances – or better yet, not being so darn careless all of the time.
Sometimes it may feel like when it rains, it pours, but if you live in Buffalo, it's always pouring rain anyway, so you might as well smile and make the best of life – as carefully as possible.
Make it all good.

E-mail: jennifer.good@ubspectrum.com