Loyalty

Loyalty is one of my top priorities in life. A lot of people don't get it, especially since I was probably horrible at being loyal in high school (and most likely a touch after) because I was a teenager with a serious case of teenager brain. But loyalty is everything. Without it, you're an island floating in the middle of the sea. And not some cute little island full of natives who live in beautiful harmony, but a no one can find you because you're a magical, disappearing, time-traveling "Lost" island in the middle of fucking nowhere. Nobody wants to be the "Lost" island. Nobody. Except maybe Ben.

While my concept of loyalty is most likely the same as the world's as a whole, my expectations of how others should show it is probably where any differences lie. Those expectations seem reasonable to me, but they often leave me disappointed. But hey, no one can know what I consider an unfathomable breach of loyalty if I don't first define what I expect. Let's fix that, shall we?

1. Have my back. You can still disagree with things I do and even tell me you think I'm wrong, but that doesn't mean you have to rescind your support. Be on my side, even when I'm not there to remind you to do so.

2. Stand up for me. If you love me, like me, or even just respect me, say "Yo bro, back off" if someone is being an ass or saying ass-y things about me.

3. Be honest. I'd rather be mad at you for five minutes every time you tell me the truth than shocked and mad at you forever because you couldn't speak some facts.

4. If we're dating, don't cheat on me. You can just break up with me first. It'll suck, but it'll suck a lot less.

5. If we're friends, don't try to bone the person I love, whether we're together or apart. There's a whole world of other people to date. You can even date anyone else I've ever dated. Just don't make moves on the one I actually give a shit about.

6. Be my dog. Applicable only to members of the canine persuasion.

I'm most likely forgetting a great portion of my Loyalty List. I'll probably still find myself saying "Man, loyalty these days!" to Cooper as we cuddle on the couch. But then I'll think "Oh yeah, it's right here in my arms............................ god dammit, Coop, FLEAS?!?!"