A 15-year-old story. I lived with a girl. Beautiful one. We lived together for a long time, and now we graduated from college. Work has begun.

One fine evening, she comes up to me and says that we need to build a business in order to make good money. And she had an idea.

The idea was to motivate me properly. She decided that we wouldn't have sex until I came up with and launched an interesting and profitable project.

I must pay tribute, she did well. After 3 months, she had to look for another apartment. We lived at my place.

1. I usually check right away if I'm okay. Maybe there are food stains on the clothes somewhere, or food is left on the face. You can't tell if he's evaluating you or just looking at you.

2. Careful peeks through a book or phone seem very pleasant to me and are not so flattering. It's just as cute when a guy turns away in embarrassment because you caught his eye. I immediately smile and blush. It's nice to know that someone is attracted to you. But if a person looks at you with obvious lust, does not look away and grins like an evil clown, it's immediately obvious.

3. I'm trying to figure out who he's really looking at. Probably some pretty girl. I was at an event. At some point, everyone, and I too, started dancing. Suddenly, a handsome man started making circles around me. And I just stopped and started looking around to figure out who he wanted to dance with.

4. It depends on the situation. Recently, a guy came up to my car and leaned on the hood to check out my breasts. It was so disgusting. I was even upset because the guy was cute. In general, it depends on whether you know how to behave or not.

5. Since this rarely happens, I always think that someone has finally seen a person in me, and even an attractive one.

6. When a guy pays attention to me, it immediately seems to me that he has decided that I am strange, or something is wrong with my clothes. The idea that he might like me seems so incredible that it doesn't even occur to me.

7. When you catch quick glances or playful glances, it's very flattering, and my day gets a little better. But when people stare at you without looking away, you immediately feel uneasy, and even sometimes you begin to fear for your life.

8. It depends on whether I find him attractive or not. I'm usually stared at by men over 30, and it's creepy because I'm 18. In such a situation, I try to move to the side where I am not visible, although there have been several cases that I have been chased. If you like a guy, I can look back at him and make eyes at him.

9. I answer the girls who write here that they have never been evaluated. Yes, you just didn't notice it, because most men don't stare openly, but work with a passing glance, like a ninja. It takes us less than a second to evaluate you.

10. I hope he doesn't come over to get acquainted and ruin my day. I came to the hardware store to shop for repairs, not to look for new friends. I'm surprised, but men in construction stare at me most of the time.

11. To be honest, I don't like meeting people in inappropriate places at all. But if someone asks for it, then on the one hand you have to be polite so as not to offend the person by refusing, on the other hand, many people do not understand the word «no» or take it for a hidden «yes».

12. Listen to advice from a slightly tired lady. Never follow a girl, assessing her from behind. Don't touch her if you decide to get to know her. Don't stare openly, don't point a finger at her. Leave immediately if she has made it clear that the sympathy is not mutual. Always behave respectfully. If you want to compliment her, praise her clothes, jewelry, hairstyle, but not her figure. Always stand up for a girl if you see someone starting to behave suspiciously. In short, just be a normal person.

See for yourself. You work honestly, 40 hours a week, but what do you have enough for? For food, communal apartment, rented house. Is the apartment your own? It's very difficult. A car? On credit for years, if approved. Start a family? And what to raise a child for and when to engage in parenting if you are constantly at work?

And then you really think — then why work so hard? After all, even if you give your best, you still won't have enough for a life worth working for.

Of course, there are those who do better — smart, educated, and have found themselves in successful niches. But even they feel the pressure! Mortgages last for decades, work until the night, stress, and competition is growing. And these are the successful ones! And what about the others? The system is slowly pushing everyone, it's just that some are stronger, others a little less.

I remember my parents telling me that previously it was possible to support a family more or less peacefully on an average salary. Now technology has developed, efficiency has increased, but it has not become easier for the common man. It's a paradox.

There are people who talk about lazy people. But maybe it's not just laziness? When automation develops, competition for jobs grows, and salaries do not keep up with prices — it is logical that people begin to doubt the meaning of super efforts.

And all this talk about «the market decides everything.»… The market may be efficient, but fairness is something else. A teacher teaches children for little money, a nurse saves lives, and someone earns many times more on speculation. Is it effective? Maybe. Is that fair? The issue is moot.

And the funny thing is that those who defend this system consider themselves to be realists, and those who are dissatisfied are whiners. But maybe it's worth listening to these «whiners»? Maybe they notice something important?

I don't know… maybe I don't understand something. But I intuitively feel that when honest work becomes a way of survival rather than a normal life, it's worth thinking about how to change this.

What to do? Maybe we should talk more about these problems and look for solutions. Support each other, not blame each other for laziness. Think about how to make the system fairer for everyone.