The people I spend the most time with are my family, because we’re mostly homebodies and have a strong disdain for changing out of basketball shorts and oversized sweatshirts. 

So naturally most of my mannerisms stem from them, and that includes teasing and good natured attacks.

My family and I all share the ability to quickly spin blame and crack jokes, tone dripping with sarcasm and hyperbolic complaints. Pretty much everyone in my family can take it, so nobody’s butthurt for all that long.

But lately, it’s come to my attention that I can come off as harsh, especially since I sometimes have trouble with tone shifts when delivering and receiving. Sometimes my jokes just sound straight up insulting, and that’s my bad.

I honestly don’t get offended all that easily, because sometimes the things I do are…less than admirable. 

I’m a sore loser, for one. If anyone were to call me out for my terrible sportsmanship during recycling bin basketball, I wouldn’t be able to defend myself. 

And my eating combination habits are horrendous, but it can’t be helped—the day that the world understands Chick-fil-A sauce on rice is that day that the heavens will begin to sing.

And I look disinterested or upset constantly, but if I stare at my phone while the world moves on around me, I might just be zoned out! 

That being said, since I’m such an easy target, I’m always on the offense, and it can be hard to indicate that I have no malicious intent.

So if my mean spirited jokes are flung in your direction, don’t stress—you probably don’t have to worry about it.