Don’t worry I’ll include a “favorite things about southern california” list later.  I’ll just need a LOT more time to think about it.

1. Too much sun - Any of the infamous leathery-skinned cougars that occupy the region would tell you that the sun is the best thing about Southern California, as would any one who has some sort of seasonal depression disorder.  However, my skin is healthy and the rain makes me happy.  I’m not even asking for flash-flooding (which can be just as annoying as too much sunshine) I’d just like to see a little bit more contrast in the weather. The sun can’t be beautiful every day, you need the rain to remind you that it’s beautiful.

2. Congestion - I would say traffic, but to be honest, it really doesn’t bother me as much as it does some people.  However, I do find myself being annoyed by it at sometimes, so I’ll include it in a broader category: Congestion.  Being from Houston, I’m used to being able to drive about 15 minutes to open spaces (fields, trees, nature in general).  This is something I wish I would have taken more advantage of when I lived there.  Since everyone and their mother wants to live in Southern California, such luxuries cannot be afforded around here.  Even if you don’t utilize these luxuries, it’s nice to know that you can go somewhere else at a reasonably close distance besides your room when you just want to get away from people.

3. Douche bags - There is an alarming amount of douche-bagery committed in this region.  Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of douche-bags in Texas, but this area is saturated with them.  Most californians refer to them as “bros” rather than douche-bags, but don’t let the name fool you, they’re douche-bags.  Here are the characteristics that make up what a southern california douche-bag or “bro” is: 1) Crippling insecurities which lead to a need for validation in all the aspects of life that don’t matter (clothing, automobile, the appearance of being tough), 2) Huge biceps and skinny legs (countless hours spent on sculpting the money muscles and ignoring all others.  In other words, if you find yourself having to fight one, kick ‘em in the knees.), 3) a strong belief in their innate ability to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championships, and 4) a tendency to act like an idiot, regardless of their actual IQ (although I would imagine it’s usually pretty low).

Of course I’m missing some popular ones (rude people, USC football fans, pollution, soap-boxery, the lakers, name-dropping etc.) but these are my three least favorite things about Southern California.

“High School is such a serious thing… these problems matter.” (note the sarcasm).

Even though you have to sometimes fight through Seth McFarlane’s political agenda to enjoy it, Family Guy is one of the best shows on television for this reason: It reminds us of how ridiculous we look when we take things that don’t matter way to seriously.  I am among the guilty party.

I hated high school because of the lens through which I viewed it.  It was my life.  If something bad happened, it was forever.  If something good happened, it was forever. In my mind, my problems could never be fixed, because my “problems” were of great significance, due to the inflated lens through which I viewed these “problems”.

To a certain extent, I have grown out of this unfortunate phase in my life.  I’m able to think more in the longer term than in the shorter, which provides me with more choices and a better understanding of how life works.  This is not to say that I’ve got anything figured out.  Anyone will tell you that every time you learn something new, you also learn a little bit more about how much you don’t know.  I guess what I’m saying is that I’ve learned how to evaluate certain situations and their significance and leave them behind me.

I understand that there are certain things that happen in high school that bring about legitimate grudge-holding.  Having your girl stolen from underneath your nose by your best friend is a crappy situation, and while I’ve never personally experienced a situation like that, I can imagine how much it would suck.  These kind of significant events obviously take a while to get over.  Getting your heart broken by some guy or girl is another unfortunate situation which obviously takes some time to get over (see previous post). But what drives me insane is when people hold grudges over insignificant events in high school.  It’s amazing the kind of drama people can commit to memory (you know what I’m talking about) for the sake of having “problems”.

So I guess here’s what I’m trying to say:

Get over it.  We were all growing up, we were all stupid and we were all oblivious to both of these things.  The people you hated in high school have probably turned into pretty cool people or they might still be assholes.  But if you can’t get over insignificant drama from high school, you’re an asshole too.  :)