January 13, 2007

  • Opinions (you don't know how it feels)

    I've learned a lot about opinions in the last few weeks. The lesson started when Mario decided to buy a new car and was confirmed when I sprained my ankle.

    As soon as Mario announced that he was going to buy a car, everyone started offering advice, myself included. I mean, I work within the automobile industry. I drive at least a dozen different cars every day at work so I have intimate knowledge of how the cars drive, what kind of mileage they get, if the cup holders are adequate, and what other important features are available in certain models. I'd also worked at a financial institution for three years, processing loans for new and used cars. Of course, we have some friends that are car enthusiasts, and they had to contribute to the situation. Then the parents jumped into the mix. Exasperated, Mario exclaimed to me one night that he was tired of all the advice because whatever person A said seemed to contradict what person B was telling him and so on. Mario decided he wanted a truck and found on he liked online in MS. He made his decision without even driving the truck, much to everyone's shock. How can you buy a car without actually seeing it in person, much less driving it? Mario said he had driven that same model and like it, but still......

    Flash to me and my ankle. Everyone has been nice and willing to help, but everyone has a different idea of how it should be treated. Different ways to wrap it, what to use to wrap it, using hot and/or cold compresses, etc. I knew it wasn't broken or too bad of an injury, but my parents and a few friends pretty much guilted me into going to the hospital. Turns out it was just a bad sprain. When the nurse wrapped my foot he did it slowly so Mario and I could see how to rewrap it. I also have crutches but they are cumbersome. I am a fan, however, of the prescriptions I was given. No, I'm not making pill cocktails, I'm just so surprised and happy that they actually work and I can kind of shuffle-walk around the apartment as necessary.

    Anyway, what I've learned from these two seemingly unrelated incidents is that even though most of the time we give our opinions and advice we think it is to help, sometimes it is about extending control or wanting to seem knowledgeable or experienced in a certain area. Mario is happy with his car, and even though he couldn't explain to me why he was okay with buying before he saw it, it was his decision. I can't explain why I think Wal-Mart is evil but I love Target. I know people will always feel the need to contribute their opinions. I just need to work on seeing the true intentions behind these opinions, especially when I am the one giving them.