Every so often I joke about how I missed my calling in life to be a psychologist/therapist. I love to analyze people. I love psychology. I love trying to figure out why people are the way they are. But today I was reminded of why such a field is not even remotely my calling: I lack patience for people. As much as I might love taking pictures of them more than any other subject, for the most part, I find people to be extremely infuriating.

This has always been an issue with me. I consistently hang out with a myriad of people with few problems for months at a time (usually spring through summer) and then, it seems that with the slow fade of summer into autumn, my patience quickly wanes and I tend to withdraw and only spend time with my closest friends and family.

People stress me out. I don’t handle politics well. I don’t handle drama well. And when it strikes up, I usually bow out. Not my scene. Not my style. Not my idea of fun. I’m still and always there for the select few I’ve chosen to really invest in, but if you haven’t made that cut, chances are, if you get on my nerves, I’m out.

And it’s getting to be that time of year again. People and their ridiculousness, their unwillingness to take control of their lives and their propensity to complain without consideration of being proactive; this is what I cannot handle. Your life is your own. It’s in your hands to make it good or bad, positive or negative, joyful or terrible.

I’ll listen to people complain, vent and cry for a time. But there comes a point when I don’t want to hear about it anymore. I want to see you make some changes. There comes a point when you have to take responsibility for your life and stop blaming the state of it on other people and what they’ve done to you. If you don’t, you become bitter and you take out your anger and your hurt on other people and do to them what you have had done to you. When you become hostile in your sadness, in your despair; this is when you have crossed the line from grief into wallowing without intention to stop. This is when you’ve allowed whatever situation you’re in to best you and win.

In as much as I get sick of people and in desperate need of a break, I am more than certain that those whom I have not invested in fully feel the same of me because my compassion wanes quickly and turns into hardened expectation to do things in your life. And this is often frowned upon and frustrating to other people. And that’s fine and we are at an impasse and a break is in order for all involved.

And it is quickly nearing break time.