Nothing like a little rant to liven up the journal, huh?

I could walk into school one day wearing massive hoodies, oversized jeans, a spiked dog collar around my neck and start ****ing swearing in every ****ing single mother****ing sentence.

NO ONE would give me respect for that, I'd probably get beat before I even got into the school, so why are well-off suburbian kids with nice, loving families suddenly deciding to start talking street and deciding to be 'gangsters?'

Respect doesn't come packaged with the $200 'gangster' hoodie you begged your rich parents to buy for you, respect isn't served in a nice silver platter by everyone around you, no my friend, you need to EARN it from society.

Now that we're done with the lecture, let's move on to a few pointers

1. Be assertive.

Don't let others push you around; back in the day I'd feel guilty and lent money to everyone who asked for a few dollars, guess what? Instead of getting respect, I ended up with empty pockets and a reputation as a doormat.

2. Stand up for yourself.

Don't give in to anyone, even the cockiest, most badass alpha male in the school. A month ago I got dissed by this senior at my school, what did I do? I got off my sorry ass and spoke back to him. Our confrontation ended with him walking off throwing insults and people looking amazed because someone finally had the guts to stand up against a senior.

3. Don't boast.

I couldn't care less if you said on Facebook that you were the reason the team won the city championship, if I saw you take down that 300 pound football player with my own eyes, I'll treat you with respect. No one likes a loud mouth.

4. Be courteous.

Hold open the door for classmates, help an old lady with her groceries, surprise your parents by shoveling the driveway. Go out of your way to help others and you'll be in everyone's good books.

5. Be fearless.

Or more accurately, suppress your fears. No one likes a wimp, inside I might want to scream like a little girl if a spider crawled up my leg, but I'd just grind the thing to a paste and move on. If people can't identify any weak points in you, you've got yourself a reputation.

6. Be reliable.

Quit letting other people down, if you can't even show up on time for a school project how is someone going to trust you to hand in that corporate business report ten years down the road?

7. Quit whining.

This is a big problem for many people, especially this one goon in my gym class. Yes I KNOW its cold, because the WHOLE BLOODY CLASS is outside playing soccer in forty km wind! Bite your lip and accept the circumstances, no one likes a crybaby.

And the list goes on and on.