There is a lot of good in the world. We all have groups of people we happily associate and socialize with, including friends, family and other acquaintances. Unfortunately, at the same time the world is far from perfect. There are always going to be difficulties. In many cases these difficulties come in the form of other people.

If you can honestly say that you have never experienced some form of bullying or harassment, consider yourself downright blessed. It’s not exactly a secret that people can be rude about any number of things. Like it or not, even little things such as a person’s physical attributes, choice of academic major or even preferences regarding entertainment can trigger negative scrutiny and rudeness. It’s rough, for sure. In this regard, Bowling For Soup was right when they sang about high school never ending. The sad truth is that some people think of life as nothing but a big popularity contest.

Do NOT let the rudeness of others interfere with your inner awesomesauce. Trust me. I am definitely not a stranger to scrutiny. People can be mean. People can be darn near evil at times. The important thing is to not let them get under your skin. If it DOES get under your skin, try your hardest not to let it show. When certain people figure out they’re bothering you, they will be more likely to continue doing whatever it is that started the trouble in the first place. The “desired” reaction usually leads the undesired behavior to be repeated. Don’t react; no matter how hard you want to. If you absolutely cannot hold back a reaction, make it small. Shrug it off
if at all possible.

On the other hand, the problem may just be that a person gets a sick kick out of seeing their fellow humans feeling miserable. They’re happy to see you sad, in other words. To combat this, take the advice I was given by a very awesomesauce friend of mine: smile and act happy, even though you may not feel it at that particular moment. Even something as small as a smile can work wonders towards making yourself feel better. Practicing smiling in private, or perhaps even in front of a mirror, can also work wonders.

Another handy trick to try is simply thinking of all the positive factors that are in your life. Nine times out of ten you will most likely discover that the positive far outweighs the negative. Go for a walk. Hang out with friends. Get offline for a bit. Just do things that make you smile and take your mind off of negatives. That was my course of action over Labor Day weekend. I was feeling down for a variety of reasons, the majority of which were personal in nature. I got home from work, tried to nap…only to realize that I was too aggravated to sleep. So I took my own advice. I got ready, packed up a couple sketchbooks, and headed to campus to hang out with friends. It wasn’t a cure-all, but it made me feel a bit better.

To conclude, I cannot stress the importance of living for you. It’s great to consider other people’s opinions, but it’s just as important to think about what makes you happy and work towards that. In all circumstances, try not to let anyone else’s negativity bring you down. Life’s too short to be brought down by petty nonsense.

As always, have a fantastic week, and remember, you are awesomesauce…no matter what anyone else tries to make you think!