Just Be Nice and Have Fun.

Just Be Nice.

"If you have nothing nice to say don't say anything at all"
"You catch more flies with honey."
"Treat others like you would like to be treated."

I spent most of my life thinking these were things my parents told me in hopes of keeping me out of the principal's office.  Or more importantly to save them the trip in to discuss me pushing Timmy down on the playground (or in my case calling Tiffany Mianulli a slut in the 3rd grade).  But as I have gotten older and have been dealing with people, be it in my many years in customer service, or just in my personal relationships - all of those things hold so very true.  Be nice.  Just be nice.

I realized today that I would rather accomplish nothing, earn nothing, end up no where, live in a box behind Walmart then get somewhere or become something by not being nice. Life is too short.  And you have no idea what a person has been through, what their life story is.  So how dare you cut them down, be short or rude to them?  You don't know.  The only thing we DO KNOW is that being nice is always better.  Just be nice.  And the shitty thing is sometimes nice goes unnoticed.  Sometimes you do everything in your power to be nice, and it doesn't matter to the people you hope it does.  But I will promise you this, the mean things you do, the times that you aren't nice, those will matter EVERY time.  And never in a good way.  You will hurt the wrong person, break the heart of someone just trying to do good, or even worse give a mean person a reason to keep being mean.  Just be nice. It's harder to be nice sometimes.  But do it anyways.  Just be nice.

And have fun.

You gotta have fun.  The only thing I have begun to believe in as much as being nice is having fun.  If you are working your ass off to be a musician, a comedian, a wife, a good friend - it will all be for nothing if you aren't having fun.  You may never accomplish what you set out to do.  You may always work in that cubicle.  There is no telling.  You can have fun though.  You can make fun, find fun, be fun.  Don't take life so seriously.  Maybe I don't do things the way people want me to do them.  Maybe I am not becoming the person that other people expect me to be.  What I wish they did see, though, is that I'm just having fun.  And if I get hit by a bus tomorrow, you bet your ass I am going to be glad my friend left you a voicemail telling you I love and miss you.  Even if I was drunk.  Because, you know what?  I was having fun.  That is what I will remember.  Not how many glasses of wine were too many glasses that night.

And please don't get me wrong.  I don't define fun by a number of drinks.  But if that is fun at that moment, if I'm having FUN, then I'm doing it right. I have fun going to comedy shows. I have fun talking for hours with my best friend. I have fun freaking out about Andrew McMahon with my girlfriend. I have fun dancing around my house late at night in my underwear and singing at the top of my lungs as if my neighbors can't actually hear me.  I have fun making my bosses proud of my work.  I have fun making my coworkers laugh.  I can have fun anywhere.  With anyone.  Because YOU GOTTA HAVE FUN.  It's SUPPOSED TO BE FUN!

I'll step off my soapbox now.  Live your life the way you want to live it.  Don't let anyone make you feel like you aren't doing it right.  But just try, just a little, to be nice and have fun. I promise you - it's so worth it.