159 - People who insult something that you like

"What's so good about the beach? Who cares about the beach, man?"

A line like that irritates me, and pains me. I certainly don't hold that shitty attitude when people are talking about their favorite places to go. I try to be open-minded, I try and enjoy the environments that other people are fond of and are well-adapted to when they bring me there, but of course, of course, I have my preferences.

Given that we're all different people, sharing is caring. Seriously, why disrespect my life, and what I like, so rudely? I spent a fair amount of time living next to the beach, and I love it. I don't go, "What's so good about shooting each other with little plastic balls?" or "What's so good about having fifty pairs of shoes?"

I don't say, "Canadian education's a frickin' joke, man" or "Screw the USA, UK for the win!"

Jeez, some people...

I understand, though, why some people may not be fond of the beach. The water gives your hair this unbelievably discomforting feel to it, and for some people, the consistency of the water hurts their eyes. You also risk getting sunburnt, and there's all the trouble of spreading sun-protection lotion over your entire body, giving this totally unpleasant, oily feel to your physique. And the sunscreen gets washed off by the sea anyway, and you have to put on sunscreen once more after every time you enter the water. And the lotion makes the sand stick to you. Lotion or none, when it's time to go home, you spend ages brushing the sand off your back and your limbs, between your toes, inside your shoes and your bag, in your hair, in your towel, in the little crack on the screen of your phone...

Okay, I get the point.

But, that's precisely why we go to the beach. That's why we go hiking, and trekking, and camping, and backpacking... getting dirty is the whole point. Don't complain about the sun. Don't complain about the water. Don't complain about the sand. The beach is there for adding a bit of color to your complexion, for swimming in the great blue sea, for building sand castles, and for playing volleyball on.

You know, it's just 'cause some of the people I know are city kids who don't know how to appreciate the beauty of nature, and would much prefer spending the majority, if not all, of their leisure time on this treacherous contraption known as a computer for days on end, getting a bigger and more cushioning arse, getting obsessive over the vast variety of digital wonders and media available on the internet 'til they're braindead, and getting sickeningly pale from basking in their tenebrous rooms like a crepuscular creature of the night.

Buuuuut, I like doing that, too, so who am I to talk? I guess my personality is too all-embracing to really limit myself in any way.

But going back to the beach, there's very little that I personally find wrong with it. My eyes don't get red in salty water. And my skin doesn't get burnt.

But I do hate sand in my stuff, I have to say...