Everyone has something that they wish thay had, or could do, or could be. What makes you jealous? Who are you jealous of? Come on, spill!
I’ll go first. I wish that we had more money to fix the house up the way I want it to be. When my husband and I went on one of our bike rides tonight, I wished that I lived in some of the houses that we saw. A nice new car would be great, too.
I wish I had a job where I made more money. I just got an associate’s degree, but am paid very little. I do love my job and it works with my upcoming school schedule, but I know I need to get it in gear and find something new. I know someone who got a job I would love to have - bingo, green-eyed monster.
A good approach would be for each of us to make a ‘wish list’ of what we want, and how to go about getting it (if possible). Obviously my grandma will never come back so that we can have that last, unfinished conversation, but there is plenty I can control and change (rolls up sleeves).
There are plenty of weight loss and job search threads. What about a unresolved issues thread?
I’ve been taking vocal lessons for 3 years now and I’ve gotten better, but it still requires a lot of focus and practice, especially when I’m strumming my guitar.
Travel. I love to travel, and we haven’t in ages. It’s gotten to where I try not to look at calendars of scenic Irish countryside because it just makes me unhappy. Given that we’ve spent the summer barely treading water, financially speaking, and my husband is trying to find a new job, I don’t think we’re going anywhere anytime soon.
I’m jealous of people who photograph well. I look absolutely horrid in photos. Folks assure me that I don’t look like that IRL (they could be humoring me, I suppose). That’s why I have very few photographs of myself.
With the qualification that the better word for the thread title would be envious, I’ll say that I envy people my age, and older, who have living mothers, and parents my age whose children are alive.
I was just thinking about this the other day because my city’s now-former mayor resigned Thursday at age 69; he referred to his 87-year-old mother in the audience during his farewell speech, and I couldn’t help think, “How is it just that he still has a mom and I don’t?”. On the same day, one of my young cousins introduced me to her infant-daughter. Being there with the new mother, her mother, and the infant made me miss my son enormously.
Sorry. In the interest of not being an utter downer, I’ll add that I envy writers my age more successful than I. Damn you for not being in your 60s, Donna Tartt and J K Rowling! You think just because you’re more TALENTED than I am, that you’re BETTER than me somehow?
I’m jealous of natural athletes. Coordinated, thin, and they don’t have to work very hard for things like shredded biceps and sixpack abs. With hard work and a little discipline, I do all right for myself, and I’m getting back into shape slowly but slowly, but it’s always been a struggle, and it always will be a struggle. I’ve started to wonder what I could have accomplished with my life had I spent all those hours, months, and years at the gym and on the roads on, say, calculus.
I’m jealous of people who are naturally good at math and sci-tech. I’m a decent linguist, and I have had absolutely incredible experiences thanks to that fact, but sci-tech is where it’s at, as far as I’m concerned. Then again, this might just be “Grass is always greener” bullshit.
I’m not terribly jealous, though. I’ve created a pretty decent life for myself, and there’s something to be said for the struggle in and of itself. Still . . . perhaps it would have been nice to, I dunno, not struggle once in a while for those sorts of things.
I’m envious of people who are able to travel. I can afford to but for reasons of family obligation, I can’t. Even a weekend away in another city would be welcome but I’d really like to be able to travel overseas. One day, perhaps.
I’m jealous of those super-powered people who can hold down a full time job, have kids, and do incredible amounts of other stuff. I want to do a research study to find out what the hell it is about them. I figure either they don’t sleep, or they have servants we don’t know about.
I’m jealous of people who have energy. How would it be to not be so tired all the time and not have to have my husband help me up the stairs every night? (yes, tested for thyroid issues. doc says it’s fine. yes, I exercise five days a week.)
I would also love to travel. I desperately want to visit Europe. I want so much to see the architecture and the cities and the people. We are barely making it money wise. I feel like I will never in my life actually have a need for a passport and that makes me very sad.
I do have many things in my life that I am grateful for, so when the jealousy monster rears it’s head, I have learned to squash it down.
I’m envious of people with loving families. Or even people with just sorta average families. I would love to have a family that gets together at Thanksgiving and Christmas, that can actually spend a whole day together without self-destructing.
I’ve sort of found a way beyond this though… I can totally make that loving family for my future kids. My husband and I, we can be the foundation for that family. So in a sense, I already have a loving family… we’re just starting out is all.
I’m jealous of this. I would love to be one of those women who was effortlessly organized, worked out every single day like I’m supposed to, was high-powered at work and still managed to have patience with her kids and an outstanding libido, all while making time to work on her latest novel on the side. Oh, yeah, and I want my house to be decorated nicely, like my mom’s.
Unfortunately, my house is semi-slovenly and some parts of it look like we’re still in college, I work out sometimes, do a decent job at work, am really patient with my kid, have a so-so libido and do the odd freelancing project on the side. It’s like I’m SuperWoman Lite - pretty okay, but not quite super enough.
I have a great friend who became a partner in a very successful business and I’m completely at war with myself to celebrate his success with a bold career move while still being completely jealous of his two houses, three cars, two boats, etc, etc.
I live a very contented life where I don’t have a ton of worries about money, family, etc, but I can’t help wanting what he has.
I’d have to say intelligence. I’m not the dumbest person by any stretch, but some people just seem to get things so much faster, and that makes me jealous.
Also, teenagers that seem to play video games with such a lack of effort. Gah! I suck at video games so much it hurts, but people 1/3 of my age are 10 times better.
I think Skald the Rhymer is right about the difference between envious and jealous. Envy is about something you don’t have, and want. Jealousy is about something you have, and don’t want anyone else to have.
I’m envious of people who can easily walk into a new situation and act like they belong there.
I envy anybody who can handle a spinnaker with only two people on board.
