It's not all bunnies and rainbows...

Recently my sister-in-law and I had an argument of sorts. She asked me for some advice, I gave it to her, she didn't like what I had to say and freaked out which led to angry facebook messages and texts (because god forbid she pick up her effing phone when the husband or I called her to actually talk). In the end, I told her that sometimes the truth hurts and her response was to make a comment to the effect of "I know, but I'm happy and that's all that really matters," which got me thinking about the ridiculousness of that statement and the sense of entitlement I see in my generation and the current tween/teen generation.

Don't get me wrong, happiness is important...no one should have to live their life unhappily, BUT, part of being a responsible adult is being able to say "You know what? XYZ would make me really happy, but I realize that it's illegal/immoral/stupid/would hurt the people I love and who love me, so I'm not going to do it." This is the lesson that I think our generation and the one after it have missed entirely. Being happy does not mean getting everything you want. It does not mean that people should always cater to your whims. And it certainly does not mean that you have the right to be rude and inconsiderate to people who tell you things you don't want to hear. The real world isn't all bunnies and rainbows and you have to be able to recognize and understand that for people to take you seriously as an adult. Being happy is a choice. If you want to be seen as an adult you've got to stop bitching about not getting what you want/not being able to manipulate people into doing what you want and make the choice to be happy regardless.