I would like to paint the way a bird sings.

Mastery over oneself is the most important thing in life, whether one is a slave or free.

This quote actually is a great lead way to something I wrote a couple days ago. I can only be responsible for my actions and not others.

No matter how much other people’s actions or thoughts we think are wrong or just plain ignorant, we have to remember we can’t change them. A couple days ago, at my niece’s school art show, I had the displeasure of having to deal with an annoying, kind of racist person. I just was not sure what to make of my encounter with her. It was just annoying and she got under my skin, even though I tried not to let it get to me. So, any way on to what happened. As I stepped into the art show, my sister, niece, and I were the first ones, we said, “hello,” to her(the only woman in the room, who was mostly like in charge of the art show) and got no response. I brushed this off and walked around to look at my niece’s art work, which was pretty awesome. I love being with my niece and getting to experience the utter joy and pride she shows in her work, it makes me light up inside. So, as the evening went by, I decided to go to the snack table and get some refreshments. On my way to leaving the table I run into the lady. She and her baby are by the table and make it a tight squeeze to get by, so I say, “Excuse me,” I wait patiently for her to move, but she doesn’t even acknowledge me or even step aside for me to get through. After a couple seconds of waiting I just try to squeeze by without bumping into her and her baby at her feet. Also, my sister and niece pass by as well. My sister hadn’t heard me say excuse me, so she assumed that I just rushed through without a word, which wasn’t the case. I told her and explained how annoyed I was. It just kind made me frustrated and about all set to get the heck out of the art show. I don’t know what her issues were and I never will, but I definitely did feel an under current of racism from her actions, whether that was her intention or not. She could have just been a rude person. So, in conclusion, people will do and act whatever way and at the end of the day, we can only be accountable for our own actions. I have decide that people like her are not worth the effort to change. I can only be responsible for how I act and what I say, and how I choose to interact with others.