Selfish

Today's prompt:  How are you selfish?

When I first read this, I immediately jumped down the road of "to be human is to be selfish."  This has been a common argument of mine, one that I firmly believe in.  There is always a benefit to yourself no matter what you do.  It may be feeding starving orphans in Africa for free, but you will still feel good about it.  You get something out of it.  To be unselfish is to receive nothing, to benefit in no way.  But you can find some sort of gain from anything you may do, be it intrinsic or extrinsic. 

How am I selfish?  I speak far too much.  I am attempting to relate to people but end up going down the road of talking about myself.  I want to help, but end up "gaining" the opportunity to boast about my own misfortunes or successes.  Please understand, I do this unintentionally.  

I am needy.  Poor Erik must pay attention to me constantly while I often forget  he needs attention as well.

I purchase clothing made by children in sweat shops.  My desire for too many material possessions is stronger than my desire to fight the system, to fight for those with little to no rights.

I would rather spend money on a movie than donate it to charity.

The list goes on and on.  We are all selfish.  But admitting to it and trying to move ahead, to move past our selfishness and become a better person; that is also what it means to be a human being.