I have a burning question for my dear readership — why are so many people jerks? I would really love to have a concrete answer. Life is so bright and sparkly with so much to look forward to. I can’t see why anyone would spend it being a grouchy creep. There’s really no excuse for it.

And let me tell you, it’s not as if everything has gone my way all the time. I’ve always struggled with my weight, and it’s likely I always will to an extent. I went through a deep depression at one point, and besides my parents and two siblings, I don’t really have any family. I’ve never had a boyfriend, and I’ve got an unsubsidized loan that is accumulating heinous interest as we speak.

Everything is not technically perfect, so to the people out there who are thinking that I am a white-bread Pollyanna with no clue, think again.

What I’m saying is that the quality of your experience on this planet is largely up to you. Sadly, I see tons of people walking around being angry, detached jerks. It doesn’t have to be that way.

If you’re depressed or are going through hard times, get help. KSU Psychological Services offers affordable counseling to students — if you need it, get it. Life is both too long, and too short, to be anything but happy. That’s not to say there won’t be the valleys that come with living a full life, but if you’re not depressed, you’ll be able to handle them and move on.

If you are just a jerk and don’t have any excuses for it, then please don’t be offended when I tell you I don’t want you around. I don’t want to know you if.

– You believe it’s OK to be rude to service people. I see this one a lot. This is a big one with cranky old geezers, whom I generally hate. Whether it’s making mean, snotty comments to a sales clerk or hiding a waitress’s tip in the leftover food, these types of people deserve to have their heads smashed in. They are really a waste of life.

– You have a superiority complex. I’ve already covered snobs in a previous column, but it’s worth mentioning again. Nobody is cut above the rest — nobody.

– You’re a whiner. You think somehow your problems are worse than everyone else’s and that we should have to hear about them. You can either complain or do something about the problem. There’s my advice; now please, shut up.

– You use people. This one is so common it makes me want to vomit. There are the guys who lead dumb girls on just so they can sleep with (i.e. use) them. Then there are the freeloaders you work with in group projects who let one or two people do all the labor and then take credit for the grade. You all suck.

We can either be positive or negative in this life, and we only get one shot at it. I would advise everyone to take a long, hard look at their glass, and see it as half-full. You might even discover it’s a lot fuller than you previously thought.

Sarah Baldwin is a graduate student in public relations and columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected].