Since a few weeks after I arrived, I have been having some internal sickness and pain, most likely as a result from emotional stress, which has resulted in me drinking more tea than normal. Now I know I am in the tea capital of the world but to be honest, I have never been a huge tea fan and reserve it for sore throats and sickness. So one particular not-so-great morning, on my way to class, I brought my closed mug of tea on the bus to take to class with me. Unknown to me, there is a strict no food or drink policy on the free shuttle bus that takes me from the campus I live on to the campus for class. However, in the past, I have seen several students bring their closed tea mugs on the bus with no problems. So on this particular morning, the bus driver decides to give me a hard time about my tea, making a scene in front of the entire bus about the last person who spilled coffee on the bus and how much of a pain it was. While I of course am understanding of the rule and it's circumstances, anyone who knows me knows I am not one to start up trouble with someone for no reason. I respectfully declined his request for me to take the tea off the bus because my options were to a.) dump it out b.) take it back to my flat and miss my bus to class or c.) take it with me to class with no trouble. The bus driver did not like this option and told me if I didn't take it off he would need to report me. So very much unlike myself, I said "fine" and gave him my ID number to write down to supposedly "report" me. I was in no mood to be messed with that morning and these were unusual circumstances for me to have tea in the first place so I was fully prepared to explain this to anyone who might contact me regarding the "report". Now I don't know if this was just a threat, or the school system is too disorganized to take action, or what but now, 2 weeks later, I am still taking the bus to class with no problems, and others are still taking food and drink on it as well with no problems.
If you are someone in authority who has power, such as the bus driver in this situation, consider your circumstances and priorities and where someone else is coming from. Sure, he had no idea what my morning or week had been like and the background of why I desperately needed tea on this particular day, but if I had needed to explain myself, I would hope he would understand and be respectful of my circumstances. So be kind to others, and when someone does something annoying or off-putting, or out of character, take a moment to see it from their perspective before instantly jumping to how it may affect you. Just think for a brief moment what they could be going through or what the cause and effect of the situation might've been that led that person to the action they are currently making.
Cheers!
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