My sister and I are roaming around Shop-Rite. No one around us knows that we just came back from a funeral. No one knows that we just came back from our grandfather’s funeral. No one knows that he was like our second father and no one knows that he was loved by so many people. We were in Shop-Rite because we needed to get cookies and desserts for people to eat when they come pay respects to our mother. When we were online the cashier was smashing every item in one bag. My sister, Nancy, asked him politely to stop and let us do it. He then got extremely insulted and started yelling at us. That is that last thing we needed in this horrible nightmare of a day. But the cashier had no way of knowing what kind of day we were having.

Because of the funeral I missed a test given by my Rabbi. He didn’t know that I lost someone close to me. He didn’t know that I just went to my first funeral ever. He didn’t know that I had to watch my beautiful grandmother break down in tears over and over again. So when I came into his class the first thing he says to me is that I must take the test NOW. I wasn’t at all ready to take a test and the principals had told me that I could reschedule my missed tests whenever I was ready. I tried to explain that he got a note from the principals explaining my reason so that I wouldn’t have to. But he refused to listen to me and kept on yelling until I ran out in tears. My friends and classmates had to inform him on my dilemma.

I believe that the Cashier and my Rabbi are actually nice people. How were they supposed to know what my problems were? But that’s exactly my point, “Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet it fighting some kind of battle.” Everyone has their own life with their own problems. I try to live by this idea everyday. Even though I might get upset with someone, I have to step back and take into consideration that this person’s life is different than mine. I must be respectful of what they are trying to tell me. I would hate to be the person who adds more stress and frustration to someone after there rough day.

My mother taught me this when I was a little girl. I never thought about the other person that I was talking to until she brought it up. That saying is on my kitchen bulletin board and taped to my mothers mirror in her bedroom. This quote has been around my house for quite some time and I only hope that it will stick with me for the rest of my life.