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LIFE'S RULES

Here's one of those things that has been bouncing around email for a few years. Sometimes it's attributed to Bill Gates, sometimes Paul Harvey. That's OK though, because I didn't write it. I'm putting it here to (a) infuriate the person who actually did, and (b) so you can print it and post it in your child's bedroom.


Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping - they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parents' generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.
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OUCH!As a 19 year old, that's a spear right to the stomach. Probably cause it's all true.1)Agree. 2)A lot of the world could care less if you live or die 3)I'm spending thousands right after HS...in college. After college...well, shucks. 4)If you think your boss, is tough, wait till you meet my mom. 5)I'm in a construction course, flipping burgers has NOTHING to do with that...unless some brings a BBQ onsite for lunch... 6)Sometimes it can be your parents fault, but still you must learn from mistakes, not just yours, but others' too. 7)Yea, my mom was a crazy hippie so she says....yeah I believe her! My dad, different story! 8)Not fair...my schools never did. Then again life's not fair!
9)One day off a week is all I really need. 10)Realty TV shows are real. Video games however aren't. That's why I hate them, except All-Star Baseball 2004 for Gamecube, the only game I ever liked. Well, maybe MarioWorld too.
11)If you've ever since some talk shows like Maury, some nerds turn completely around and become stunning and gorgeous. It's never too early to change. And nerds are smart too! Wink
Am I the only old guy here who's just a little put off by this? I mean, talk about branding a group (teenagers) with a negative stereotype! My HS aged kids generally put in a longer day than I do, between school, sports, and homework. They work all summer at responsible jobs. They're expected to get A's and B's - and the teachers grade tough in most classes (and yeah, it's a public school, folks.) Only one or 2 students will get A's in the advanced Math class - same thing in Honors Chem. Gotta keep those grades up for college! Sports - slack off and you'll lose your position. Maybe not make the squad next year. How about taking an extra class at the JC over the summer to pump up your schedule for your college application? Or should you be putting in extra training time? Are you going to make the "elite" summer team?
It seems to me that the current generation is under more pressure to do more, better, faster than I ever remember from my youth.
Oh, and yeah - by the time they grow up they're going to inherit a huge national debt, depleted natural resources, and polluted air, water and soil, which our generation seems to be only too casual about leaving behind.
So maybe we shouldn't be quite so smug about telling them that "life's not fair."
It's not easy growing up these days. Before it only seemed like the hippie grups were experimenting with drugs, now almost everyone does them, and they do more with them then experiment. There's more. Peer pressure seems to be more pressuring, and some people do things without being pressured. AIDS on the rise, teen pregnancies and teen suicides too. Abusive parents, gangs, fights and violence, life's not fair!

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