Slothful
people in society burdensome for all
Krystle Ralston
We are all guilty of the lovely sin known as laziness. How many times have we
been in bed on a Saturday morning and heard the phone ring two feet away but
cannot motivate ourselves to move?
Or we are watching something on television
and after it ends, it is followed by a six-hour marathon of “7th Heaven.” Do
we get up to walk across the room and physically turn off the god-awful programming?
If we can’t find the remote, we suffer though sickening sweet family-friendly
television.
I was walking into the mall one day when I passed by a particularly beautiful
Ferrari. I drooled for a second then saw it park in the one and only handicapped
spot. A man wearing what had to be an $800 suit got out, yelling on his cell
phone about acquisitions or something equally annoying. My jaw dropped at his
insensitivity and carelessness for those who actually cannot walk and must use
the space designed for them.
We are a lazy society, no question. How many shopping carts do we see just a
few spots away from the actual place where they are supposed to go, but people
just cannot summon the strength to walk 10 feet to put it away, where it will
not hit cars or block parking spaces? How many trays do we see on tables at restaurants
underneath a big sign that says “please bus your own table?” That
trash can, it is just too far — all of five steps.
I know we are stronger than this. So next time you are walking to class, don’t
jam into the incredibly crowded escalator where people can elbow you or grab
your ass.
The stairs take five seconds more, and I know it’s the only workout
I get after all the unhealthy dining hall food I eat.
When you are parking in
our wonderful parking lots, even if you are in a hurry, please take the 4.3 seconds
to straighten out so some poor soul who cannot find any other spot is not late
to class because you parked over the line.
And about that small gap in the front of the University Student Union that everyone
and their mom tries to get through, walking six or seven steps around it will
save you a heck of a lot of time.
It is almost a guarantee I will see people
lined up to walk through that little gap, and I just laugh on the inside as I
ask myself: Do they realize that by the time they get through the gap, they could
have been down the hall close to the staircase if they had just walked around?
All of these things are so simply avoided; it astounds me that I continue to
see them everyday. We have become so dependent on people doing things for us
that our actions are so small that they do not affect anyone else. Or we just
making things harder on ourselves?
We need to take a step back and realize we are in college now. It is time to
start acting like grown-ups. Our parents cooked for us, did our laundry and drove
us around in high school. Now we have all the freedoms we always wanted.
But with those freedoms come responsibility. Respect the people and atmosphere
around you. You will make someone’s day as they realize there are individuals
in this world who mind this crazy concept known as manners.
Krystle Ralston is a senior journalism major.
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