The Plight of the Yuppie

After having spent several years away from the Greater New York City area, I must confess, it is (for the most part) good to be home.

When you grow up in this area, you naturally move a little faster and think a little more quickly than those in other locales, a fact that I quickly grew to appreciate when I moved south to Virginia for my undergraduate and graduate college experiences.

Despite New York's breadth of offerings, from the cultural to the social to the overall convenience factors, I cannot help but lament the fact that so many New Yorkers seem like the death of the world is upon them.

Mind you, I'm not speaking of the homeless, or even lower middle class with families to care for struggling to provide the best for their loved ones. I'm talking about the so-called "yuppies" (granted, I arguably fit into this class) that are so unhappy with life that they speak and act like everything in life evidences that the world is stacked against THEM.

This is a real killer to me - whatever happened to taking a few minutes (this is coming from someone who often has to work very long hours and spins between the work/sleep cycle like a washing machine perpetually stuck on wash/spin. Take a second.

Think about the homeless guy on the street. Think about the single mother struggling to provide for her children while working two jobs. Quit complaining and dwelling on the negative, and instead focus on the positive! My mother always said (as cliche as it sounds) that, "you catch more flies with honey," and despite being a NY Metro kid, I still believe it to be true.

Do one thing today: offer your bus/train seat to someone in need. Hell, crack a smile. And, above all, lose the negative attitude and say something positive.