I had two conversations with two different men today that bothered me. The first had to do with “responsibility” to the people we care about and to the world. My friend’s boyfriend was saying that he owes the world nothing, that everyone can “go fuck themselves,” and he doesn’t need or want to contribute anything to this world. That’s why he chose a job that gives him no accountability, no mobility, and no real responsibility. He thinks it’s all a load of crap. He also hinted he thinks I’m naive because I think I am making a difference in the world by doing youth mentoring and volunteering. Well, I never said I was curing cancer or saving the world. I’m only one person, and if I can help just one other person, why not? It’s not fully selfless, as when we help others, we tend to feel good about ourselves, so there is a small selfish component to that. The concept of not wanting to possess any responsibility or duty to the world really angers me. It’s that type of selfishness that makes the world a bad place to live in, when we know we cannot rely on anyone for anything. Part of being an adult means having responsibility, and to try to escape responsibility is to evade adulthood. No one wants a real life Peter Pan in their lives.

The second annoying conversation was with a guy I thought was supposed to be my friend, but he’s really just using me as an outlet to complain about his failing dating escapades. When he had his last girlfriend, every single time I used to see him, he would complain about her for at least 70 percent of the time. Now that he’s broken up with her and she’s moved out, he’s tried to over compensate on his dating and sex life by seeing over 17 different women in the last four months and sleeping with all of them. And he thinks I want to hear about the details of his life. And after sleeping with these people, he realizes that they’re all neurotic in some way and he doesn’t want to be with any of them in a real relationship. “I feel so comfortable telling you these things,” he said. “That’s why I complain to you.”

I’m never responding to another message from this guy again.