Have you ever been going about your life and see someone doing something that just rubbed you the wrong way? Or broke some sort of rule that you kind of assumed everybody followed but apparently not? And have you ever thought to yourself: “why aren’t these rules common sense?”
Well, here are some of my personal rules and codes of behaviour that I feel like everyone should obey. (None of them are too crazy I don’t think, which is why I get so frustrated when people don’t just do them!)
1. If you’re in a group of people taking up the entire sidewalk and I am a single tiny person walking in the other direction, it is your obligation to compress and get out of the way, not mine. I’ll lose my mind the next time I have to walk through ankle-deep snow because a group of people think it’s okay for them to walk in a line of three instead of compressing and making some room.
2. If you’re in a group in the hallways, move to the side and get out of the way. The rest of us have places to be, and you’re slowing us down. The same goes to you people who walk super slowly through the halls or are on your phone as you’re moving through the school. Some of us are running late for classes. Move it!
3. When riding the bus, if you have the choice between two open seats, one of which is next to a person, the other next to me and my six or seven grocery bags, please don’t sit beside me. I will move all of my crap off the seat next to me if I need to because I’m a good person, but if I don’t have to, please don’t make me. There are other open seats — just pick one of those.
4. At the library in those little cubicle things in the stacks, please don’t sit directly behind me unless you have to. If it’s busy that’s different, but when there are 10 open seats where you don’t have to be directly behind me, please pick one of those. I’m socially awkward and I like my privacy, especially since I have to watch a bunch of really bizarre films for class that might seem strange for a random person to see. Just let me watch my crazy movies in peace.
5. If you notice a person is a little bit short on change while buying something, help them out. It’s a nice thing to do. We’re all in the same boat as poor university students and I’m sure you would appreciate it if someone did the same for you. We have to look out for each other.
6. If the person in front of you at a store or food place is taking a while, don’t be that jerk who huffs and groans and makes a big stink. They’re not trying to take long and they’re already embarrassed. Don’t make it worse. Again, if you were having a problem, you wouldn’t want someone to rush you — so don’t do it to others.
7. And if you’re one of those people who is intentionally taking a while … why are you doing that? Just don’t do it. Come on.
8. Tip your servers and people at customer service places. Those jobs freaking suck and they deserve the tip. (Also be kind to your servers. They work hard and they’re people too.)
9. Don’t be one of those jerks who tries to force me to donate while I’m shopping. If I have spare change I’ll give it. If I say no, it’s because I’m a broke university student who genuinely doesn’t have anything to spare. (And no, having a code so that I can donate with my debit does not change my mind. Please don’t make me feel guilty: I donate when I can and when I can’t, just back off.)
10. Be respectful of your friends and their time and understand that they don’t owe you anything. It’s definitely okay to ask for friends to proofread papers, help you study, spend time with you and stuff like that, but make sure that you ask, don’t demand. I will proofread your paper if I have time, but if you come in and just demand that I do it, I might suddenly become much busier. I’m not your personal editor. Be respectful of my time.
So that’s all for this time, but I’m sure I could up with more. There are lots of things I assume are common sense that apparently aren’t. And as long as people continue to not do those things, I’ll have more to rant about.