Take a Breath

Christian Page ‘21, Perspectives and Layout Co-Editor

Admit it, we’re all constantly getting offended and angry with people over nothing. It’s about time we all realize there are very few people in the world who want to emotionally harm us. We see things as how they come across to us and react based on the way we see things – without ever thinking of the other person, what they could have meant, or what the context was.

We have to realize that no one wakes up in the morning and says, “Today is a great day to be mean,” and that everyone sees things from a different perspective.

People might make a mistake and say something they didn’t really mean to come off in the way you took it, and we have to accept those mistakes and move on. If we dwell on it, we simply make things worse. Ms. Dunn commonly says in class that when we remember something, we’re remembering the last time we remembered it, not actually the event, and it changes just a little each time. Eventually it just becomes false, and then you’re spreading gossip.

On the flip-side, don’t say things you know are going to annoy someone or say things just to get a rise out of them. It might be funny to you in the moment, but you have no idea what that person could be going through. No one needs added stressors; we’re stressed enough as is.

Just take a breath and relax for a second. If we all do our best to be as kind as possible to one another, we have the ability to make a strong community of peers. A community that lifts each other up, and realizes that we’re all just as stressed as the person sitting across from you.

Photo source: https://takingbacktiffany.wordpress.com/2011/05/23/a-guide-to-photos-of-people-holding-plants/