You know what really sticks in my craw? People who have a “past.” They’re always letting their past get in the way of the things that they’re supposed to be doing. Everything is an excuse for them.

How do you know the type of person I’m talking about? They always say the same things. Things like, “I’ve been hurt in the past,” or, “When I was young I didn’t get enough attention.” All those things serve as excuses to allow people not to take responsibility for their actions.

Even famous people do it. I’m sure we’re all familiar with rapper Marshal Mathers’ 2002 hit “Cleaning Out My Closet” in which he says, “Try to invision your mother poppin’ prescription pills in the kitchen,” like that is such a horrible childhood. Oh I’m sorry, he’s allowed to be callus and rude to people because he saw his mom pop prescription pills in his kitchen when he was a child.

My question: who hasn’t seen that?!?!?! My mom has popped prescription pills in the kitchen on more than one occasion…and she did it in front of me! You know where she got them? Usually the doctor because she was sick! Usually when people catch a virus or some other illness, they go to the doctor, who prescribes some form of antibiotic to make them feel better. Then they go home, get a glass of water and pop the pills…usually in the kitchen. It’s pretty standard really. You’re not special, Eminem.

And now we have people like congressman Foley who says that he harasses pages because he’s a drunk and he was abused as a child. First of all, if drinking makes you want to do stuff with kids, then you probably shouldn’t drink anymore (just a thought), and if your parents aren’t abusing you now, then there is no excuse.

That’s just like your garden variety serial killers who use the same excuse all the time. Their defense is always something like, “my parents used to spank me when I was young, so that’s why I kill people.”

What? My dad flew all the way from Northern Virginia to whoop my behind…yesterday! I am writing this article standing up because my backside is too sore to sit down! He just wanted to make sure I stay in line! It was a customary check-up whoopin’, and I’m 22 years old! If you kill people then clearly your parents didn’t whoop you enough! Get over it.

And how many of you have ruined relationships because of your past?

I know you are probably reading this to yourself, so you don’t have to raise your hand and announce it to everyone. Just keep it to yourself; you know who you are. For your information, everyone has been hurt in the past. There ain’t a man or woman who has been through more than two2 relationships who hasn’t been hurt. I’ve been hurt, you’ve probably been hurt and chances are some of you reading this article are hurtin’ right now. That isn’t an excuse to flub up your other relationships.

What happens if you’ve had bad experiences with lottery tickets? Are you going to rip up the winning 2.5 million-dollar winning ticket and say, “Oh jeez, I mean, I would really like to keep you lottery ticket because you are worth a lot of money. It’s just that, well, I’ve had bad experiences with lottery tickets in the past, so I’m going to have to continue being poor.” Would any of you do that? No? Apparently any of you that have ruined good relationships because of your “past” would do that. Get over it.

The past doesn’t have anything to do with the now. I know I’ve said it a billion times over the course of these articles, but it’s about taking responsibility for what you do. The past is not the present, so it shouldn’t be an excuse for you to make bad choices, especially if you know it’s the wrong thing to do.

You know doing inappropriate things with children is wrong? Forget your past; do the right thing. You know that you have someone who you really care about and who makes you feel good? Forget the past do the right thing. And if you really love killing people…ummm…ew dude…just…I mean I don’t know what to tell you, get help, and don’t kill people.

And that’s what really sticks in my craw. Good luck Villanova and Godspeed.