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Respect: 

To treat people in the manner in which you expect to be treated. To show consideration for another person's feelings and interests. An attitude demonstrating that you value another person. You should treat your friends with respect. When I started this blog I didnt plan on devoting many of my posts to rants about things in my life that piss me off. However, today I am posting about something that I not only want but need in life. Yup you guessed it, respect. Too many times people brush off considerations for others and think of only themselves. There are so many kinds of respect and I dont plan on covering all of them. What I do want to discuss is self-respect and respect in relationships.  Too many times I sit down at work or walk down the street and I hear people complaining about how ugly they are or how no one likes them. GROW UP. If you think your ugly then yeah you are. If you are confident and think that you are beautiful then that will show and you will be. Respect yourself enough to be confident in who you are and what you look like! Im not going to sit here and give you a motivational talk about how you need to look into your heart and realize how amazing you are. Im in a bad mood and I would rather tell you to get over it than coddle you. If you havent realized your amazing yet then nothing I say is going to help you. If you spend your days lamenting over the fact that you cant make friends and that no one likes you well then odds are its your own fault. Get up off of your butt and go make some friends. Dont spend all day complaining, ask someone how their day is going. Take the time to think of someone other than your self. There is a fine line between respecting yourself and being full of yourself. A decent amount of self absorption is healthy but dont let that cup overflow. If you can respect yourself and be confident then that is going to spread to others and in turn they are going to respect you too.

Which brings us to the next area of respect that is driving me insane. Respect in relationships. Take a second to talk to someone that you love and ask them whats going on in their life. When they start to talk actually LISTEN. Dont just nod along all the while thinking about what story from this week you want to share with them about your life. People are important, we all need friends, lovers and even people we hate. Thats what really makes our lives worth while. If you make plans with someone, stick to them. Nothing makes me angrier than when someone tells me they are going to do something and then they blow you off. Have enough respect to at least let them know whats going on. Most people are going to understand that your lame excuse is really just that, a lame excuse but they are going to also realize that you need some time by yourself. Everyone ditches others, its just the way that we do it that makes all the difference. Respect someone enough to tell them the truth, Im going to be more understanding if you just tell me straight to my face. It saves time, energy and chocolate. Chocolate only because its what we eat when someone makes us angry. Girls, respect your girlfriends, dont ditch them for your new boytoy. Dedicate at least one day every week to at least one of your gals, paint each others toenails and sip wine. Spend an afternoon taking pictures of each other in your best model poses. Take some time to talk about anything other than boys! This is going to only strengthen your relationship and make you respect each other more. 

Girl friends and Boy friends, spend an entire day together doing as many random things that you can think of, or just have a regular boring day. Work on your homework together, go to the library. Just spending that time in companionable silence is such a respect builder. You dont have to plan a fancy date just to hang out. Most couples are happy being in the same room, no need to go over the top. Respect each other enough to just be yourself, dont gussy up and act macho. You are together because you are attracted to the REAL person behind the dating mask. Go for a walk, throw a snowball, share a milkshake, talk on the phone until your falling asleep, take random funny face pictures do something that lets the other know that you respect them enough to be yourself.

Kids, respect your family. Call your mom or dad tomorrow and tell them that you love them. Call them to not ask for anything, call just to see how they are. This is going to make your entire relationship stronger and open the door to more of these happy chats. It doesnt have to be a long call, a 5 minute phone call can warm up your parents heart just as easily as an hour long call. If you dont want to call a parent then call a brother or a sister, maybe an aunt or uncle. You have people that love you, now show them the respect they deserve by giving them a little of your time.