Everyone around me loves to say that today’s youth are rude, lazy, disrespect older people, and only think about themselves. But recently I realized: sometimes you need to respect yourself more than other people’s complaints, especially when they start taking advantage of your kindness.
I was returning home after a tough exam session. I had passed all my exams, almost without sleep, and dreamed of only one thing — to get some rest during the trip. I purposely bought a ticket for the lower berth so I could lie down peacefully and not suffer like on the upper one. I got on the carriage, settled in, and was already about to doze off when a woman about forty years old entered the compartment with a boy who looked no older than seven.
The woman looked tired but determined. After she put her things away, it turned out they only had tickets for the upper berth. She sat opposite me and immediately started telling how unlucky she was — her back hurt, her son was restless, and it would be impossible with a child up there. She asked me to give her my place.
I felt sorry for her. I decided to help: I climbed up to the upper berth and tried to sleep. But no luck.
The boy, sprawling on the lower berth, kept fidgeting, kicking the mattress and the metal supports, making the whole structure shake and vibrate. Moreover, he was humming some silly melody from a computer game and wouldn’t stop talking. At first, I endured it. Then, summoning my courage, I asked the woman to calm her son.
— Oh, don’t dramatize! — she replied, tired and irritated. — He’s just a child!
But the child, as if on purpose, got even worse — started running back and forth through the carriage, loudly turned on cartoons on his phone, laughed, jumped.
I got down from the upper berth and went to the conductor. I calmly explained without shouting that my ticket was for the lower berth and I had given it up voluntarily, but now I couldn’t rest because the woman refused to control her child.
The conductor entered the compartment, checked the tickets, looked at the woman, and said firmly:
— Madam, you have the upper berth. Please take the seats you purchased.
The woman tried to argue but the conductor was firm. Finally, she sighed, climbed up with the boy, and I finally lay down again on my lower berth.
Since then, I have firmly decided: I will never again sacrifice my own comfort for others.
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