In my opinion...

All work and no play makes Danz a dull boy. That's a lie, I was always dull.

Hopefully that horrible joke on me would be enough for you to forget that I haven't written in over two weeks; I've been busy okay! Still I'm here with yet another rather insignificant thought of mine, hoping that you can relate.

So lately I've been under the impression that everyone loves to get their own two-bits in. Let's face it, people love listening to themselves, so whenever they get the chance, they shove their own views and perceptions wherever they go.

Now this generally isn't a bad thing. By all means, I feel that getting advice from as many people as possible is vital for a sound decision. Still there are limits even for advice. People like to think for themselves sometimes and don't always need to be spoon-fed. In today's world with everyone telling you what to do and how to do it, I feel that in the big picture we're all a bunch of robots without individuality.

So now when is enough, enough? See, I feel that opinions are divided into two categories; the views that benefit, and the views that vent.

The views that benefit are the sincere ones made by people who have decided to take an unbiased approach to your situation and therefore are offering you advice out of genuine concern. These people weirdly enough aren't often the ones closest to you. Those people are too involved in your life to offer an unbiased decision. More often than not people listen to those they are closest to and take advice on views that have a set agenda. These people want your life to follow a path that 'they' feel is best for you, not what is best for you overall. Yes I get that this is confusing but let me ask you this, if you're a person who regularly goes to friends for advice, don't you get a bit irritated once in a while when they refuse to have an opinion that actually matters and instead they rather choose to agree with whatever you have to say. That's not advice, that's a yes-man *Movie Reference :)*

The views that vent are something you have to look out for. These are people who will take your situation and somehow change it into their own. It's like going to someone for advice about your own particular situation only to have them relent on about what happened to them. I get that experience matters, but really once in a while I'd like someone to just shut up and listen. I'm probably the biggest hypocrite for writing about this seeing I too tend to go on about my life every now and then *understatement of the year* but this is just basic advice for those that are reading this. A different kind of 'views that vent' are those which somehow seem to make any difficult situation you encounter, entirely your fault. These are the people who are of the opinion that when things go sour, you're the one to blame. Now not only is this unfair but it kinda sucks! So watch out for the ones that have always had something against you, and are waiting to stick it to you the moment a situation arises.

Wow didn't think I could actually write that much, okay no wait I did. Consider this making up for lost time seeing as I'm probably going to get super busy now that I'm leaving for university. Still this is my life, and I'm sure I'll be able to squeeze in time for this somewhere. Till then enjoy some random photo that does not even remotely go with the title, that I've grabbed from my phone :).

The Lone Ranger or The Masses of Sheep?

People don't often realize how the interactions I have with them leads me to learning a life lesson. Certain encounters that I've had have in fact taught me a lot about life. Some lessons were beneficial, others were harsh smacks of reality, but more often than not each lesson I learned would change me as an individual. However I digress from the original topic.

Every person I've met over the course of my lifetime have had different ideals, views and perspective to almost everything and anything. Now while it is true that human opinions are unique, most of the people I met could be classified into groups of individuals with similar characteristics. However there are always those rare few with viewpoints so unorthodox that they question the foundation of everything considered to be the norm. To them, their opinions are only ones they consider worth listening to. Some might say that they are selfish for not taking into consideration the views of others. However it has come to my realization that in the end it is us who makes the final decision regarding any dilemma we face with life, so shouldn't our thoughts matter the most?

Now trust me there are always exceptions to this rule. Some people are so single minded that they are blinded by the desire of others to help them out. They always consider themselves to be right no matter what the circumstances. Whether others think of them as a joke or not, they are their own boss and will fiercely stand by what they say. However their stubbornness eventually leads to their downfall. In essence these individuals are popular to a certain degree. Sadly though this popularity is not one of respect but rather of curiosity. Others are enamored by the resilience of this person who to them is a refreshing break from all the other sheep they interact with. Unfortunately their interest is no more than that of people visiting the zoo and trying to provoke the snakes with a stick. They hunger for the moment when this person finally loses his or her grip on reality and goes spiraling down into a wave of their own emotions.

What I have described in the previous paragraph is an extreme measure of one person's view on an individual's opinion. The polar opposites are in fact far more common then their counterparts. They are those who are addicted to what is considered popular by the masses. Also regarded as 'sheep' these people are always willing to bend their own opinions to suit the generally agreed view. While popular, it is quite likely that in the future, just as trends fade away, they too will not be remembered.

So now the question lies as to where some of you stand in terms of listening to others and having a voice for yourself. As with all things good and evil, tolerance is key. We should not allow what others say to hurt or influence us too greatly. Similarly we should not let wise words spoken go to waste. Each person has something to say. What matters is whether it's worth listening to or not.