Do you have a friend that is just prone to dramatic interludes and drama-packed day to day? 

I have two. Every single day is another drama and action packed life… and they way they narrate their lives is as if the world is ending and there is an ebola outbreak that they are singlehandedly trying to stop. Don’t get me wrong… there are somedays that I feel overly dramatic and I narrate my harrowing day in overblown terms… but mostly for comic amusement and mostly so I can just blow off steam. But M? She actually believes that she faces these true life or death scenarios and that she was in grave danger. Her dog recently was hospitalized, and you would have thought the leader of the free world was hurt and she was his only lifeline. I sympathize as a dog owner, but I also believe that if you are capable of spending two thousand dollars fixing your three thousand dollar pet, then this isn’t a real problem.

The cold and ruthless little voice in my head just says “those aren’t real problems.” I don’t think I’ve ever had a “real” problem. There are some little nuisances, annoyances, and dramatic stories, but I’ve never had a problem. I’ve never been deathly ill, or broken, or stranded in a place where no civilized hand could reach out and help me. I’ve never wanted for food, shelter, or any comfort.

For the most part, my friends are like me, we enjoy a good life. We have the ability to gripe on about stupid things like how the $20 martini was just not all that great, and how our fancy leather shoes got damages when we accidentally spilled that overpriced martini on them. So when one of my friends complains about their hardships, I just hope that I do not do the same where such trivial matters becomes mountains in my minds eye when there are people who suffer from true hardship and battle harrowing days.