My Life. . . My Strife.

I have this issue where if my face has the slightest amount of oil I grow pimples on it. It’s really bad too when I grow pimples around my nose and mouth (one time I actually had a pimple sitting near the edge of my nostril and people thought it was a booger). One time in high school I had this huge pimple, unfortunately it was on the top right edge of my lip line. Well, pimples are disgusting enough. I guess they had disgusted one of my “friends” so much that she kept saying, “Ew!” and making faces at my pimple. Her response for “solving” this problem: “Pimples are nasty. You should tell people it’s a cold-sore.” My eyes got big, I was so confused. 

1. So you want me to go around and tell people I have a virus when I don’t?! 

2. Get off my face acting like your skin was clear. IT. WAS. NOT. 

3. Haters always want you to make a fool of yourself. 

4. Sorry “friend,” but cold-sores aren’t cute. Telling people I had one wasn’t going to make my face look any better or have the pimple disappear. 

I don’t know where you’re from, but where I’m from people usually wear money on their shirt when it’s their birthday. The history behind it? Don’t ask me! I sort of think people do it so they can get more money. Also, having a lot of money on your shirt sort of makes you feel “special.” 

Well I wanted to feel special one time for my birthday. Not only did I want to wear money on my shirt, which I never did before, I wanted everyone to know it was my birthday. A few days before my birthday I went to the craft store and bought an “It’s My Birthday!” button. 

It’s the big day, my birthday! I’m wearing my button and three dollars on my shirt... I only have three dollars, because I’m not working at the time and I really don’t have money. 

I walk into school and... NOTHING.... no one says anything. Not even an “Is it your birthday?” Hours go by, then someone asks me, “What’s that for?” They point to my three dollars and birthday button. I’m standing in front of the small group and say, “It’s for my birthday.” The person looks at me and asks, “Oh, it’s your birthday?” I reply, “Yeah,” hoping they’ll say back “Happy Birthday!” WRONG, they say, “Oh.” Everyone else in the crowd just looks at me, and eventually walks off.

At the end of the day, I go home, on my birthday, with my same three dollars.

1. It’s like NOTHING happened.

2. I’s too has a birthday, I’s too is important! 

3. How come when I do what everyone else does it’s wrong and weird?

One time a friend of mine invited me to their place to watch Black Swan, the movie that came out in 2010. 

Anyway, I get to my friend’s place and another good friend of theirs is there to watch the movie too. I’ve met this other person before through other mutual friends, and thought it was cool to get to know this other person better. We all have a good time and bonded throughout the movie. 

Flash forward a few days after watching the movie together. I see the other person, the other person who was watching the movie at our friend’s place. I wave to the other person, no reaction, no eye contact. Weird. 

Flash forward another week: I see this same person/mutual friend at an event. I ask them how they are, and this mutual friend says, “What?” I repeat myself, but they say “I don’t know you.” I reply with a detailed description of all the people we know, all the times we’ve hung out, and even how we watched Black Swan with our mutual friend. This person goes on to say, “I’m sorry, I don’t know you.” 

We ended up seeing each other weekly, because of work/school schedules, and she continued to act like I was a stranger. 

1. What, the hell. 

2. How can you say you don’t know me, in front of all those other people like that? 

3. We sat shoulder-to-shoulder in a room watching Black Swan. Who forgets people in moments like that?

4. We knew each other before watching the movie together, so the movie experience doesn’t even matter. 

My job is trying to have a new thing where they appreciate employees more. Something they do is tell everyone “Happy Birthday” when it’s that time of the year. They’ll send out an email to that person who’s having the birthday and cc everyone else in the email so everyone can know. Also, there’s a birthday calendar everyone can access so we can see who’s birthday is coming up. 

I had no idea this “Happy Birthday” announcement was a thing, because I had a birthday and no one said anything. Months later I look at the birthday calendar and realize everyone’s birthday is on the birthday calendar, but mine. Odd. 

1. Is this really a calendar to celebrate employees’ birthdays, or your favorite people in the office? 

2. You can’t say you don’t know my birthday, Human Resources! You have my date of birth on legal documents I signed for my job. 

I stayed at an apartment before that did not have the best fixtures. Particularly, the shower rod in my bathroom would always fall down or out when I pulled my shower curtain back, or put a towel on the rod. 

One day, I got tired of it. I called maintenance and had them fix it. After maintenance fixed the rod, the worker looked at me and said, “Next time don’t hang on it, or put your weight on it.” 

1. Excuse you?! 

2. What makes you think I come out the shower and just “hang around” like a monkey?

3. What makes you think I broke the rod that wasn’t even in good condition when I moved in?! 

4. Do you think I use the rod to pull myself in and out of the shower?!

5. Next time do routine updates on the building and your job, MAINTENANCE. 

I’m at work and we’re all trying to decide what to eat for lunch. One person mentions ordering a pizza, but wants to know if I wanted to share the pizza with her. I say, “sure,” because who doesn’t want free lunch? 

Well, this person goes on to say she’s ordering an individual-sized pizza. This is where I get confused–This same person explains that she and another co-worker ordered this individual-sized pizza before and shared it, but that it was “so much pizza” for them. They ended up throwing away the rest. Please be aware that this individual-sized pizza is four small slices, they each had one slice and threw two away.

These co-workers were thinking about who they could share the pizza with if they ordered it again. Then they thought and said I would be a good person to share the pizza with, since it’s “so much pizza” and they needed someone to help them eat it. 

What. The. Heck.

1. Why am I first choice to share this individual-sized pizza? Because I’m the biggest person in the office?!

2. Just because I’m big, doesn’t mean I’ll eat any food leftover. 

What do you do when someone doesn’t want to admit they said something about you? Do you keep heckling them? Well I didn’t. 

I guess at this point in my life, I got so irritated with people talking about me, and for reasons I didn’t understand. I guess it’s easy for people to make fun of you when they don’t know you. Some of the stuff said about me during this time just made me irate. Suddenly, I was yelling at the last person I heard spread a rumor about me. I confronted this girl in her face, and told her not to say ever again what she had been telling people the past few days. I was done! 

This girl replied, “I didn’t say that!” I looked at her, in shock. I couldn’t believe she would deny saying something that held so many witnesses when she said it, including me. I confronted her about it again, only to be met with the same reply, and in a more angered tone. She finally approached me further and drew a fist, yelling, “I DID NOT SAY THAT!” I backed down, and walked away, afraid I would get hurt physically as bad as her words hurt me emotionally. 

She smirked, and the crowd consoled her, not me. They went on to tell their lies, without care. What type of audacity lives a lie and is proud to live that lie?  Because I didn’t stand my ground, people were disgusted I would initiate such a conversation and approach her with my questions and comments. I regret this moment. I should have stood for the truth. 

What do you do when someone denies saying something you’re certain they said?

1. Why can’t people admit they did something to hurt someone?

2. I know what you said, you’ve been saying the same thing about me for a week, and even laughed about it with your friends, before and after I approached you.

3. Don’t get scared. “Say what you mean, mean what you say” 

4. To this day I’m afraid to hold people accountable, because I’m afraid someone will deny their words so quick; afraid I’ll get hurt even more for being honest and truthful about the whole situation. 

One time a friend of mine invited me to a party, it was very “ceremonial.” I was pumped. I needed something to show I was still in the game and a socialite. I started word-vomitting to my friend, going on about what I’ll wear and conversations I couldn’t wait to have. My friend responded going on-and-on about not being able to wait to see me at the party. My friend gave me the date and time of the party, but one thing was missing...the address! 

I constantly contacted my friend back, asking where the party would be. Well, weeks went by, and my friend “ghost” me. About a month later I asked how the party was. My friend acted dumbfounded. They said they didn’t see my messages asking for the address. I told them it was fine, a misunderstanding, and started asking about details of the party. I also messaged about other things going on in life. 

Guess what everyone, this person ghost me again! No response to any of my messages... for months!

1. Boo! Boo, boo, boo, boo, BOO! As the ghosts say. 

2. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” 

3. I should have been suspicious, because you invited me to a party for someone else. Who does that? Why did you have to invite me for them?

One time a friend of mine posted online a status, and I was really concerned. I asked if he was okay, which he replied, “It’s from a song.” I responded, “I didn’t know, what song?” Three minutes later, he deleted me as one of his friends on social media.

1. I just wanted to know the name of the song. I didn’t know you only talk to people who know everything about anything in life. I guess you know all music artists to ever walk the Earth, all of their songs, and the lyrics to them in grave detail.

2. If your song makes you too cool to talk to me, why didn’t you just tell me the name of the song? Maybe because it’s not a good song.

One time I was telling a “friend” that I didn’t know how I got bird poop on my car. It was early in the morning, and I hadn’t been anywhere, but my place. This girl looks at me, laughs and says, “Maybe you parked under a tree?” I look at her eyes, and she has this, “You didn’t think about that did you?” look on her face. I’m in so much rage, but I stay silent, because I’m not the type to make people embarrassed. She takes my silence as being dumbfounded and then smirks as if she’s thinking, “I knew it, you’re an idiot.” 

How dare she think I am oblivious and stupid to my own surroundings and nature? Who does she think she is to judge me and assume I don’t know anything?! 

1. There are NO TREES at my place! None. I’d be glad to walk you around the whole area, but no one has a tree in front of their place!--I tried to give her the benefit of doubt, but I went home, saw where I parked, and saw no trees near anyone’s property! Not a single neighbor has a tree either (which I thought was weird, and bad for the environment and our health). 

2. If I parked under a tree, I would have remembered, I only left my place maybe an hour ago. I hope my memory is not going that fast.

3. If I parked under a tree, I would have assumed that maybe there was a bird in that tree, at some point in time.

4. If I parked under a tree, and there was a bird, I would have guessed that maybe that bird pooped on my car. 

5. If I know anything about birds, I know that they poop on cars. 

One time I went to a sandwich shop. The employee asked me what I wanted. I told her, “I’m not sure, I’m still looking.” I really wanted to say, “Give me a minute,” but I was trying to be nice (by the way, no one else was in the sandwich shop, so I didn’t understand why she was rushing me). The next thing I know it she asks me, “Do you like turkey?” and starts getting the sandwich paper ready.

1. I’m not a child, I know what I want!

2. I know what turkey tastes like.

3. If  I wanted turkey, I would have told you that.

4. Asking me if I like turkey is not going to make me want turkey.

5. I might as well leave if you’re going to rush me out and try to pick a sandwich for me, and one of the most basic ones.