Dear Iowa, don't be this person at the gas station!

First off, there's absolutely nothing wrong with buying scratch-offs or doing some gambling with the wonderful Iowa State Lottery. If you've got a few extra bucks and want to try and 'win big' I wish you nothing but good luck. I hope you win enough to at least go on a nice vacation, buy the new dishwasher you've been wanting, or pay off some of your debt. When it comes to gambling, I'm a team player and I cheer for everyone.

There is only ONE instance where I hope you win absolutely nothing and go home down $20 or $40.

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This situation is where I am truly baffled by the general lack of self-awareness from grown adults. When you're 5-6-7-8 years old, sure, it can be hard to understand that there's a great big world out there. It can be tough, when you're 7, to conceptualize how your actions may impact others around you. I will never understand why people old enough to buy scratch-offs can't grasp this simple concept.

Don't Be This Person!!

How about we STOP BUYING SCRATCH-OFF TICKETS AND SCRATCHING THEM WHILE YOU'RE AT THE FRONT OF THE COUNTER MAKING EVERYONE WAIT IN LINE BEHIND YOU!

*I apologize for the all-caps usage here but I needed to express that with the screaming voice I heard in my head.*

Is it just me or have you noticed an uptick in people who buy their scratch-off tickets and then stand at the counter to find out if they are winners this summer? HEY PERSON, you have an entire line of people behind you on their lunch break who are trying to get back to work.

This happened to me again yesterday at a gas station I regularly visit and this is something that is starting to drive me a little bit insane. Move off to the side and scratch your damn tickets. Read the room for goodness sake. If there's no one else in there, fine. Scratch your tickets to your heart's content. Once someone else is in line, move out of the way.

Thankfully, I've never been in a big enough hurry to where this truly affects me but I know for certain other people in line don't have time to wait for you to scratch your 5 tickets. In what universe would someone think it's okay to hold up an entire line of people to find out if they won money gambling?

While the gas station attendant will normally jump in and ask this person to move, they 100% shouldn't have to. Move your a** so everyone else can continue about their day.

I'm not sure why this irritates me so much but this lack of self-awareness is impossible for me to understand.

The next time you buy scratch-off tickets, I wish you nothing but good fortune, unless you make everyone behind you have to wait for you to scratch them off. If that's the case, I hope your cat pukes up a hairball right on your favorite shoes.