Suppose you and a group of your close friends are on a road trip across the United States. It's just you and five friends cramped together in a van on the open road, with nothing to pass the time except conversation. Things seem to be going fairly smoothly; however, after about a couple days or so you realize that your friend (let's call him "bob") is getting on your nerves. Bob has had a bad attitude about the trip from day one, and he's taking it out on you and your other friends. He is irritated quite easily, and arguments regularly break out. His gloomy attitude has put a damper on the trip, turning it from a liberating experience to something you and all of your friends would rather end as soon as possible. All in all, Bob has seemed to have single handedly ruined the trip with his bad attitude and gloomy outlook. Bob is a pessimist.
             Everyone has come into contact with someone who can be considered a pessimist. This is the person who is practically impossible to deal with; regular conversation habitually turns into an argument. They have a gloomy outlook on almost every situation, no matter how promising the situation may actually be. They have low self-esteem; nothing they do ever seems good enough in their own eyes and they are constantly down on themselves. Also, they lack faith in everything; nothing ever seems like it will work out and everything is also too good to be true.
             When I think about my own life and experiences I can recall of several people I have met that could be categorized as pessimists, but one stands above all of the rest; Frank. I've known Frank for eight years now; I met him shortly after I moved to the Vancouver area from Texas. Him and I became very good friends, and our strong friendship continues to this day. However, there is no doubt that Frank is a pessimist, after eight years friendship I have more than enough proof.
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