Get Over Yourself

By: Ayana Bryant-Weekes

This is one lonesome generation to say the least, one that seems to experience a mass seclusion of sorts. Seems like every day round about the same time, the “I’m up with no one to talk to” social media rants begin. Seems like everyday someone mentions how he or she doesn’t have any friends.  I’m not going to lie; I used to be guilty of the same thing. I can recall getting a text from my best friend after tweeting about not having anyone to talk to because I didn’t have any friends. She was annoyed, and very offended (rightfully so) that I would say something like that and we had spent 10 years being best friends. There was nothing I could really say at the time because she was right. But, the truth was, I was bored and didn’t necessarily feel like asking anyone to entertain me with company. My lonely tweets were sad attempts at getting attention from someone when what I really needed to do was do something productive or go to sleep.

Yes, this is a very lonesome generation but a very passive aggressive one in that aspect. This is a generation that will publicly announce its lack of received attention with the insinuation that someone else should reach out, instead of simply reaching out themselves. This is also the same generation that preaches loyalty to the bone yet brags about their ability to very quickly and without hesitation cut some one off (you all know the song). I am a part of a generation where a group of very good friends can each say, “I don’t have any friends.” 

This generation is frustrating. We want things that we don’t want to ask for out of fear of being bothersome or annoying and then complain about not having what we want. What’s even more baffling is that we all feel that same way about it within the same group circles! I dared myself to stop being that way and started opening myself up to opportunities to get out of the house and spend time with people, which meant not immediately declining an invitation just because I didn’t know everyone that would be in attendance. That meant asking people if they wanted to do something with me and then figuring out what that something was later, even if it meant just chilling at a friend’s house or taking a walk.

I could dwell on the fact that no one would really ask me to go anywhere or do anything but I would also have to acknowledge how much I secluded myself from everybody with my words. How many of my friends felt a certain way about me saying I didn’t have any friends? I’m not sure, but I do know that if someone I considered a friend constantly said they had none, I’d question our friendship… or their sanity. Now that I’ve gotten over my pride and put myself in a position to have things to do, I literally always have something to do.  Between business, church, and various groups of friends, I find myself actually needing to write down what I have planned for the week; which is a good thing I suppose lol.