Warning: Don't Top the Top

Let’s be honest, we all know that one person that has had a more intriguing story than you, for the sole purpose of topping what you had just said. The most absurd part is that the story can be anything, even like publishing a book or something worse like getting a ticket. These types of people will always have supposedly done something better or extremely worse. In this situation, he/she would have published a whole series instead of just one book or something as melodramatic as getting arrested. No matter the situation, they will always have a tale to tell. These people as I mention are normally called one-uppers, for a lack of a better word. For some odd reason they feel the need to repeatedly exceed the expectations of others, but I ask is it really worth it? It seems to me their societal consequences are just not clear enough. Just in case that is the reason, let me clarify it.

· It does not make you popular (probably just ignored)

· It hurts people’s feelings

· It discredits your word

· It makes you look foolish

I will not lie; most people do not want to be around someone like this. People don’t like to be degraded in rank and hardly anyone wants to listen to their stories. One-uppers may say it is true, but after five straight weeks of allegory telling, you tend to catch on. Either you have a very presumptuous life or more likely than not, they are exactly what is said– fables, fantasy, fiction.

Either way, it is not exactly nice. I mean think about it. Would you like for someone to one-up you? What if you were trying to impress someone, and then your friend or whoever just shut you down by topping your story. It is upsetting.

Not to mention, the more you cut down other people’s stories and tell your own, the fewer people believe you. There are some logical reasons for one-upping like, to gain self-worth or confidence but you need to consider the reactions of others. The presumptuous life you try to convey is conceived as a lie. Your life stories are perceived as fiction. People tend to lose respect for you and take your word questionably.

If people question your word, then what do you honestly believe they think of you?

A word to the wise, one-upping is not a sport, it is a joke. It makes you the joke.

If you don’t believe me, listen to this.

This is an ode to those who get "A's" and "B's" on even the hardest tests and are in honors and AP classes. This is an ode to those who got a 96.6 in physics or the kid that finally passed a quiz. To the who-gives-a-crap guy that finally made honor roll or simply chose not to quit, but only to those who do not feel the need to share it.

Who am I to be compared?

Sorry to say I cannot gloat in my success nor will I wallow in my misery. My pain is only so extensive and my success only goes so far. Sometimes I just cannot top the top or what has already been done and this is okay. Sometime being at the top is no prize.