You can learn a lot from the people you associate with. It feels like I have met them all...the single mothers in their 30's with nothing good to say about their low life boyfriends, the teenage punks, the young adult who has about as much of an idea what to do with their life as any 20 something year old does, and the straight up weird people. When I was living back east, I worked with a lot of questionable people and I had to deal with a lot of their judgments towards me, my religion, the way I lived my life, and basically anything I had to say about anything. I got into a lot of heated debates about why I do the things I do (no drugs, alcohol, experimenting with the boundaries of relationships, etc.) and after awhile I decided not to fight about it, just discuss it instead. That can really be said for just about any social experience you have with most people. You talk about yourself, and in time, the things that make you who you are are evident. Usually I am a fairly decent judge of character, and I most definitely try not to judge those I don't know and haven't gotten a chance to meet yet. I would say that I learned this the hard way by befriending less than honorable people my freshman year of college, but that is just what being a freshman meant. Learning from my mistakes and becoming someone who knows how to deal with people and their intentions.
This was on my mind mostly because I am about to go serve a mission for a year and a half and a lot of people don't agree with the LDS religion and they do not like Mormons. I am not one of those people who get upset and aggressive defending my beliefs, but I also do not quietly allow someone to bash everything I have ever believed in. I have been feeling a lot of pressure at work because I work with 3 very non religious people and I feel like every time I speak I have to defend myself, others, and my friends. Customers will come in with packages to mail to missionary sons (I work at a UPS store) and as soon as they see the label to "Elder" they immediately become rude to that customer. I am standing there chatting it up with them talking about their child's mission and my coworkers are giving me the death glare. I feel really defensive lately and I just wish I had a couple of work friends who love my beliefs and standards. If this felt like a back and forth whip lashed post, that's because it was. So deal with it.
I completely relate. Minus the soon serving a mission part. But as a political science major in the Bible belt with a Mormon running for president, class got pretty ugly sometimes. But when they learned I was a Mormon a few of them ate their words pretty quickly. That's because we're awesome. Well you and me at least. Love you Schmem.
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