Memoir
By Megan Fontenot
The Beginning
Being patient was never something that I was very good at. When someone did something that I did not like, I would not tolerate it, and, a majority of the time, the person I was angry with was not even aware of what they were doing wrong. Because of this inability to tolerate the annoying tendencies of others, I was not able to interact with other people very much.
The Journey
Despite my inability to interact with others, my sister and I went to Europe for three weeks. During this time, I met someone named Taylor, who I got along with fairly well at first. However, after a few days, I could only notice things about her that annoyed me. She would always feel the need to sing, dance, or talk about herself, which was infuriating, so I could not be around her anymore. As the trip progressed, I did not mind the fact that we were not talking, but, on the last three days of the trip, I was forced to share a room with her. Because of this, I had to interact with her on a daily basis, but it was, surprisingly, not bad at all. The last three days of the trip were actually my favorite, mainly because of Taylor's witty banter and sarcastic comments. When I had to return home, I was actually sad when I had to tell her goodbye.
Ugly Kid Joe - Everything About You (Lyrics)
The Realization
Upon returning home, I realized that my friendship with Taylor was, somewhat, like that of brothers Essau and Jacob. In the beginning we got along, but a conflict caused us to drift apart, but then we made amends and everything was fine. This made we wonder about what my trip could have been like if I had been able to look past her flaws and get along with her. I also started to think about all the other people that I did not talk to just because I could not look past their imperfections, and this made me realize that I needed to start being more patient with people, and, even if I do not like the person, I need to at least make an attempt to get along with them, not only for my benefit but for theirs as well.