Kids today (aka I am so old, aka don’t they got no fetching up, aka get off my lawn)

So as an academic librarian I am constantly exposed to TODAY’S YOUTH. And let me just say, what the hell? Do these kids parents no raise them to have any manners at all? So here is a list of things that because I am clearly so so old, make me absolutely crazy.

-          Wearing your headphones or earbuds or whatever you want to call them while talking to people, or trying to get away with only taking one out during class.  If you are talking to someone, please give them your full and total attention. If you don’t want to listen to what I have to say bad enough to take those things off, why should I listen to you, or waste my breath trying to talk to you?

-          Take your hats off inside.  That is so rude.  Do they not teach that that is rude anymore? And that includes your hoods, y’all. It is not raining inside, you do not need your hood up like that and you look like a moron/jerk. HOODS DOWN.

-          Does no one actually say “please” and “thank you” and “excuse me” anymore? I mean, seriously? Standing in the door of my office staring at me until I happen to look up my work and notice you doesn’t do anything but scare the pee out of me. A polite “excuse me, I need some help” goes a lot farther. Do not stick papers in my face and go “is this right” or interrupt me while I’m helping someone else to say “I need copies”. Ask politely!  It will make me actually care about what you need!

-          And on the subject of copies, there is such a thing as copyright! I understand that you don’t want to have to buy your own copy of a book. School books are expensive! But I am only allowed to copy 50 pages from any one document and that’s it! If we break those rules and we get caught they will take away our copier and then no one gets any copies! You are not so much more important than everyone else that you should be the reason that on one else gets any copies ever because you “REALLY NEEDED” those extra pages. Don’t whine!

-          Dress like a grown up. No. Not even that. Dress like a five year old if you want, but dress like a five year old whose parents actually care enough about them to dress them in clean clothes without holes in them. And while we’re at it, hygiene is good, and that includes showers, brushing your teeth and PLEASE GOD  washing your hands after you use the bathroom.

-          Show some respect. For yourself. For your classmates. For your professors. For the library equipment, for the other people using the sidewalks. For whatever poor soul you happen to encounter during the day.

-           If you think everyone on campus is rude or unfriendly, consider this, if you are walking along with your hood up, earbuds in, looking at your phone, you’ll never notice if someone says hello or smiles at you as you pass by.