First Week Of School

You know when they say patience is a virtue? Well during this first week of school, I've found that patience is not a virtue that I possess.  

In the Fall of 2009, I moved into an apartment about 5 minutes from campus. This semester, I find myself waking up at 6:00 a.m. every day just so that I can make it to campus before my 9:00 class. Every Monday through Thursday I travel from Stockton to Sacramento, and during my long journey, I am greeted with traffic at almost every turn.

Once I leave Stockton, I drive to Elk Grove to pick up my girlfriend and then head to campus.  From her house, a supposedly 10-minute drive turns into a 35-minute drive because of the traffic that surrounds her neighborhood and the school.  On the third day of school, I decided to be caviler and take a different route than what my girlfriend told me was the "fastest way" to get to school.  I've lived in Sacramento for about 2 years so my pride told me that I knew a better way than the path she was directing me.  Boy was I wrong.  

We ended up about 30 minutes late for our 9:00 class, and I haven't heard the end of it from my girlfriend.  In my mind, I figured that taking the long way would be better than just staying in stop-and-go traffic.  

When we finally got to our class, a video about the different women in art was being played in a dark, crowded room of my classmates.  As we got settled, I glanced at my girlfriend, and she gave me "the look." She didn't have to say anything because I already knew what she was thinking.  

She probably said in her mind, "This boy (shaking her head). Why can't she just listen?"

While the video was playing during class, I started thinking about all the times that my pride has put us into situations that could have been avoided if I had just listened to her.  Of all those times, I've always, for the most part, admitted that I have been wrong and explained to her that that is just how guys are made when it comes to driving.  We always think that we are right, no matter what.

After this experience of mine, I have just one piece of advice for all the guys out there who find themselves in a similar position:  Just listen to the girl.

The reason why I say this is not because I've learned from my own experience and have decided to lower my pride, but it's because it's just simply the smart thing to do. 

When you listen to the girl, you avoid any unwanted bickering with your significant other, you keep them happy, and most importantly, when they're wrong (and they eventually will be) you will have the opportunity to rub it in their faces and you will be able to give them "the look."