I was taught responsibility from a young age. It started with simply putting the silverware into the drawer from the dishwasher, since I was too small to reach the cupboards. Then it was doing my own laundry. Then it was loading the dishwasher. Then it was loading the dishwasher, unloading the dishwasher, taking out the trash, taking out the dog, cleaning my room, getting myself up on time for school, etc. If I needed help with something, I just asked, but I was also expected to explain why I needed help. If it was reasonable, such as I just didn’t have enough time to do the chore since I was bogged down with homework, then I would get the help.
Since I’ve been a part of the workforce, I have had the responsibility of paying my own bills. True, I get help from college financial aid, but that is something I’m going to have to pay back. I’m also working. So it isn’t like I’m getting a free ride. If I have an emergency, my parents will help me, such as when my car’s engine died, and they gave me the money to buy a used car, because it was an emergency. I paid them back the next year. As they put it on their most recent visit, my “credit is good with them”.
Some people in my life seem not to know how to take responsibility for themselves. They blame depression, or the job market, or that they weren’t raised the same way I was. The latter I can understand. Work ethic and your responsibility level partially comes from how you were raised. However, when you’re just too damn lazy to grow up, it is a problem. I can understand depression. I’ve been depressed most of my 25 years. However, I also know that I’m 25 years old, there are bills to pay, food to buy, and I can’t rely on someone else to wipe my ass. I don’t use people. This isn’t about one person in particular, but a host of people that I know. I’m just shocked. If I was unemployed, not looking for work, mooching off my friends/partner, and skipping school as well, my parents would be so embarrassed. Then when you ask these people to do something, they freak out. Like you’re asking them to run the United States.
At this point, frustration has overwhelmed me. I feel like running down the street screaming. I can’t be the responsible one anymore. I’m so tired of being the responsible one. I know some, even myself, would view that as a good thing, but when is it my turn to just say “I don’t give a damn”?
