The "Hello" Standard

Hello! -lol.

As is well known, hello is the way we greet each other, initiate interaction, and well, it's basically become the only accepted norm for greeting. I am implying that other various alternatives such as Hi and Hey, are a part of this. But it's all basically Hello.

In some cultures, Hello goes above and beyond though. Like we simply will NOT do otherwise. To do otherwise; to not say hello: is rude. Such cultures that I will be focusing on today is America, Russia, and Ukraine. (I am sure there are other countries that also perfectly fit this).

If you grew up like me, where this was SO empathsized in your household to the point where you basically got sick of it, you might've also questioned the Hello standard (that's what I'm calling it). It gets weird when you are EXPECTED (otherwise you're rude) to say Hello to your family members entering the house, simply because you have not seen them for literally: a couple of hours, if even that. Maybe 30 minutes.

It's like, my family knows I love them? I'm not...rude?

And maybe you've even been in a situation like me, where, upon not thinking to say Hello for the first two seconds of seeing your grandparents, they zoom off angrily and your mom starts screaming swear words at you; upon entering your house, she's wondering out loud why she even gave birth to you since you're...like this. But let's just say she didn't put it that nicely...

Please do not think I'm overexaggerating. I, literally, am not. Naturally, feeling angry is understandable.

The only way to resolve this situation is with a calm demeanor where you realize, or someone helps you realize, that even if you don't agree with expectations, other people will think you're rude and that you don't love them if you don't say Hello. Therefore, you have to. Do it for them.

Sidenote: this story was particularly pertaining to family, I understand that saying Hello to strangers and non-family members is even MORE common sense.

In the end, this story is about learning to accept and love other people, expectations that you're burdened with (no, it's not hard to say Hello, it's the reaction that really gets me ⬆️😀), even if you don't always see it, learning to overcome rebellion...and in the end just doing what's right.

As Always, Let Me Know What You Think!!!☺