#boringboring

so i was riding the metro back from work and these high school or college kids (i couldnt tell) were being super loud and obnoxious for the entire ride when the entire car was dead silent and just putting up with their conversation

and i guess what bugged me most is that i used to very much be one of those kids--completely oblivious to the feelings of others, and even perhaps secretly believing that others would listen in and be impressed by my conversation (heck, a lot of times i still am but im trying to work on it)

so anyway, as they were talking it became clear that they wanted to get off at wheaton - which is the second to last stop on the line. i tend not to pay attention to stops too much because i get off at the ass end of the red line, but i keep general track of the time by seeing if i'm above or below ground. we finally get to the last stretch of the line and the train stops. the kids across from me all start frantically asking each other if this stop is "fort totten or wheaton" which are like four stops away from each other. since we're underground, i tell them it's wheaton because i (wrongly) assume that one of the options they're listing must be correct. 

they all rush off the train just as the doors are closing, only to find out that the stop is actually forest glen. i'm about to be washed over by a bit of guilt (not a lot because could just get on the next train in 5 minutes) when the woman behind me says, "did you do that just so they'd get off?" i laugh and say that i didn't mean to. then the man in front of me looks at me, smiles, shakes his head and says "heh kids."

this back and forth went on for a little bit until we all shared an amused chuckle

and i realized that these fellow riders saw me as one of them - a grown up