Respect

 "Respect your elders" How often is it you've heard this phrase? And this is true, we should. They've been through what we have (and probably worse), they give us advice, they tell us off (this is them getting annoyed we aren't taking their advice) and they buy us.....questionable gifts at Christmas. But why should this only extend to the elderly? How many times have you heard people within your own group of friends be rude and disrespectful to others of the same age group? It's all about being civil, no matter how much you don't wish to speak to someone, there's a certain level of being civil which is socially acceptable. You don't have to be best pals with someone but what's wrong with a simple hi? Maybe it's the little things that will make a person's day just a little better, not being made to feel out of place, not feeling under-appreciated in an environment that's comfortable to them, and the simplest way of doing this is just to be civil - just to have a respect for another person's feelings.
How much easier would things be if we could all just be civil towards one another - not getting into stupid disagreements, silly arguments and insane fallouts just because one person can't speak to another. You never know what's going to happen tomorrow, would you ever forgive yourself if something happened to someone you'd held a grudge against? Someone you could no longer bear to be civil to? I've had it happen to me and there's no worse feeling, all the things you could've and should've said. Maybe just getting to say goodbye. So I dare you, next time you are in the same vicinity as someone you can't bear, someone you have every reason to hate, just be civil, and just think about what you gain from rudeness?? Cos I bet it's rare that it makes you feel 'happy'