"How Are You?"

Before I start, I want you to read the whole thing before you disagree with me or get mad at me.

My least favorite question could be "how are you?" I ask all of you, "Why? Why do you ask people how they are doing?" If you really think about it, it's out of courtesy but not necessarily because you really, genuinely want to know how that person is doing. Do you really care how I am doing? Then ask me why my day is good or bad or say, "I'll live." If you don't care how I am doing, just say, "Hey." I hate that question more when some random person asks me that because he/she doesn't know me and certainly does not care how I am doing. Sometimes I want to say, "It's none of your business." Yes, it might be harsh and mean but I feel like you are being a jerk by asking me how I am doing when you don't really care.

One more phrase I don't like is "I am sorry." Whenever I told people that I wasn't going home for Christmas, they told me that they were sorry. Why? I chose not to go home. You should have been happy for me that I wasn't going home. Also, if you are really sorry, I feel like you should ask what you can do for that person and try to cheer that person up. I had to say I am sorry few times to one of my really good friends (and you should have read about her on one of the previous posts) but I also told her that I wish I could be there with her to somehow help her out. I told her that if she ever needed money, she should let me know. I think that's what it really means to be "sorry"; you are willing to do whatever to ease the burden of your friend. You wish you could take their pain away. You want to bear their burdens for them. If you don't ever wish those things, you are not really sorry.

Also, sometimes people just don't want to hear "sorry" at all. I was talking to my co-worker and she told me about something that was going on in her family. I didn't know what to say but I didn't say sorry, then she told me how she was sick of people saying "sorry." I would never want to hear "I am sorry" when something really terrible happens to me because "I am sorry" is not going to cheer me up.

Having said all this, I must tell you that I kind of have changed my view on "how are you?" part. It is true that on most of the days, I feel like my life sucks (I probably don't use the word "suck" except talking about life) and I hesitate to say "good." However, perhaps I should say "good" for me so that I can change my attitude of life: it could be good if I wanted it to be. I tried to be optimistic and encouraging by telling myself in the mirror that I am going to have a great day. It worked most of the times. It could be the same with life; if I kept convincing others that my life is good, perhaps I could make it good (or I am just faking it). I think I will just go with "I'll live."