Call me old-fashioned, but I take being on time very seriously. It has nothing to do with "fashion" or "generation," but everything to do with respect for others.

When did it become an acceptable idea to show up "fashionably late"? This term encases the timespan of about 10-15 minutes, but recently it's taking on the timespan closer to 25-30.

Dinner is scheduled at 7:00 and for some, that means the dinner can start at any time involving the number 7. People sashay in around 7:10 or later and they acknowledge the ones who actually showed up closer to time and completely disregard that the server has been wanting to take the tables drink order for the past 10 minutes, but can't do so because the entire party hasn't shown up yet. And please, don't text the organizer of the dinner at 7:15 and say you're 5 minutes away because both of you know 5 actually means 10 (insert eye roll emoji).

With my first real job out of high school, I quickly adopted a habit that my mother had been trying to instill in me for years: being on time, in fact, being early. I was terrified that I'd be fired or written up if I showed up even a minute late, so I made sure I was there at least 15 minutes in advance. I began to follow the mantra that my mother has: "If you're early, you're on time. If you're on time, you're late".

Tardiness really started to become a huge pet peeve for me when it would be my time to clock out, except I couldn't because my replacement had yet to show up. It bothered me terribly because I had managed to work an 8-hour shift after showing up in a timely manner and I felt like others around me should have a similar mindset. As I branch out into the "adult" world, the mindset seems to ever stay the same.

I now work in a different job, but my pet peeve is still running rampant and sometimes it's to the point where I actually feel angry from it. I work in retail, so everything is time specific. From the time we open to the time we will hold an item to the time we close the drawer down, there is a specifically timed science and it kills me when it isn't followed to a T.

Psychologists correlate the emotion of anger with the idea of lateness to the fact that tardiness portrays a lack of respect or consideration for the other people involved, which makes irritableness strike at an all time high. The worst excuse for tardiness is the "So sorry, I got busy" or "So sorry, I got caught up" because we both can have extremely busy lives, but I manage to make it to places on time and I would expect the same from others. Just because you shoot a text, doesn't make me any less annoyed that you're late.

Now, of course, there have been times that I have let the minutes slip by and showed up a few minutes late, but that's not what I am addressing. I am addressing routine lateness that becomes a habit. It just seems so easy come, easy go for people now and that's what makes it so hard to understand.

But, yes. I consider serial tardiness a severe character flaw and take it into account as much as possible when it comes to my inner circle. All in all, just show up on time and the world will go round in a much, much smoother way.