Recently I found this meme that jokes about how the gen Zs have just learned about this word which they are now overusing and are being mocked for it. That word is “nonchalant”. I used to know what the word meant, but I don’t actually use it like these gen Z kids do so I just totally forgot about it. Now you have an idea how weak my vocab is. Thanks to this new trend, I got to refresh my memory with Google’s help. Don’t know much about the whole story behind it, but it’s probably just a word these kids use often in their conversations.
I always thought that when it comes to this internet and social media thing, we millennials walked so them gen Z’s can run. Looks like the gen Z’s started running too fast, leaving us behind and now we’re the ones who are just following along with their lame antics on the internet. Because of this trendy word, I and my wife started using it, too- as a joke, of course. I was the nonchalant one, she was the overreactor- and that makes us the perfect couple.
Aside from it being trendy, the word “nonchalant” caught my attention because of the reason which I just mentioned- Apparently, I seem to be a nonchalant person. But how much do I understand the word for me to say that I am, in fact, nonchalant?
Also recently, I saw this question posted on Reddit that goes, “When did you stop giving a fuck?” I didn’t post my thoughts because, first, I don’t give a fuck about this question, and second, I need to take some time to think about it- which means that I do give a fuck about that question after all. It actually struck a cord in me when I read it, to be honest. Reading it felt like looking at myself and asking, “When did you stop giving a fuck?” While trying to think of an answer, it got me thinking, “Did I ever?”
I know I did. I used to be a people-pleaser in my younger years. To girls, a simp (another gen Z slang? Maybe not). In high school, I was the type of guy who would take favors without asking for anything in return, thinking it would leave a good impression. Around girls, I’d make fun of myself and make stupid jokes just to see them laugh. Another time during high school, this couple- a classmate and his girlfriend from another class- would hide at the far end of a hallway to make out. I’d be their lookout. Why? They asked me to. Why did I agree? I don’t know. I just wanted them to be happy doing their thing. Not that it’s a big deal to me now, but it’s just one of the examples I can remember, just to give you an idea about the type of kid that I was.
Back then I thought that the more people I please, the more respect I’ll earn. Maybe I earned some, but that wasn’t really it. In fact, the more people I tried to please, the more I’m showing them how weak I am because it shows that I can be ordered around, and I didn’t learn that until I became an adult. Only then did I learn that I was easy to order around. There are times even when you didn’t have to ask me to do something. When I felt that I had to do something, I’d do it. I wanted to be Mr. Nice Guy. I was the go-to guy if someone wants their stuff looked after, the guy who would rush to the store and come back all sweaty but happy when I hear them say “Good job” as if I’m the most loyal dog in the world, the guy who thought he won all the girls’ hearts with his cringey jokes, and many other things.
Not Mr. Nice Guy. Rather, Mr. Loser.
So, to answer the question, when did I stop giving a fuck, well, still can’t remember when. It just happened. I just grew up and out of it. What I do know is I just had enough. Had enough of people ordering me around. Had enough of being a simp. Had enough of myself being a pushover. Had enough of being Mr. Loser.
It’s not that I totally stopped doing people favors. I still would, but this time only for those that I truly care for- my smallest circle. And maybe occasionally for others at times that really can’t be helped, and they would have to ask really hard, like, borderline beg. Otherwise, the rest of the world can kiss my nonchalant ass.
Ramble Nut 