people always ask me how i can stand being so nice to people that are so horrible to me, how i can forgive them so easily.
it's because when i look at the guy who calls me names and makes me feel worthless, i know that he could be the way he is because he was bullied when he was a little kid, or because his parents love his brother more than him, or because no matter how hard he tries, he never gets more than a C on his tests. and i know that he could like vanilla ice cream more than chocolate, even though everyone else disagrees with him, and i know that sometimes he'll knock his pinky toe on the corner of his bed, and wake up too early on a sunday morning but he won't be able to get back to sleep, so he'll lie in bed staring at the ceiling. when i look at the teacher who doesn't like me, no matter what i do and how well i behave, i can see the dark circles under her eyes, and maybe they're there because her husband got too drunk again last night and she had to stay up waiting for him, or maybe they're there because the little dog next door was barking at shadows again. maybe she had an extra cup of coffee this morning, maybe she put an extra spoonful of sugar in because no one was looking and she has a sweet tooth. i'll never know for sure, i'll only know the ifs. when a girl shoves past me in the hallway without so much as an apology, i'm completely aware of the fact that she could just be being rude, but she could also be trying to hide the tears because she thinks her boyfriend might be about to break up with her, or because her friend was spreading rumors about her, and she's going to spend the rest of the day crying in the toilets. maybe her cat got run over when she was eleven and she still misses his warm weight on her toes as she sleeps.
i guess what i'm trying to say here is that even though i don't deserve to be treated like they treat me, for all i know, they don't deserve to be treated how they're being treated, either. i don't know their story, so i won't be mean in return. it's both a blessing and a curse.