Monday, January 25, 2010

My Old Man Advice To A Teenage Girl On Relationships

"If all guys approached their relationships with the same passion that they have for video games, every woman would be happy."

The above quote is from my niece, posted on Facebook. It bugged me so much I posted a snide little comment on it until I came to my senses and took it down. When I make jokes about my immaturity they aren't to be self-deprecating, it really is a character flaw.

The comment really did bother me for several different reasons though, so I thought that since I have my own little public forum I would jot a few down.

What bothered me first is the stereotyping. It's like a man saying, "If my wife spent as much time giving me attention as she spends my money on clothes I'd be a happy man.". Terrible Men are from Venus, women are from Mars simplification. Next would be the self-centered message it sends. If it were a grown woman saying that I'd tell her to get over herself or play video games with her boyfriend, maybe take an interest in his interests too. Something that may make future relationships easier is realizing early that there are two people in the relationship and one of them is the man. Of course it's a teenage girl so she really doesn't need to grow up. Which brings me to the next point. If you're a teenage girl what are you worrying about "passion" in a relationship for in the first place. You're in high school. Teenage boys should be more concerned about video games, music and tuners than trying to make a relationship work. They'll get plenty of that shit later. Your passion should be focused on establishing your own life and identity independent of everyone else before your worried about nurturing a relationship. I know probably all of two or three people that married his or her high school sweetheart and are actually still together and happy. If I thought she would listen and not be tired of hearing her preachy Uncle dispense holier-than-thou advice, I would tell her to enjoy what she has and prepare for better things. And learn to like video games, Devil May Cry 5 looks like it kicks ass.

Oh, I'm working on that maturity problem too.

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