Friday 5: Rose in a Fisted Glove

1. In your adult life, how have people tried to bully you, and how have you responded? Ooh. Ooh. Man. So first of all, I’m really hesitant to call things bullying–I think it’s a word that’s getting tossed around and overused and is sometimes applied to situations where it really doesn’t fit. At the same time, though, I think we have a tendency to downplay some of the nasty things people do and not recognize how bad it really is. But in short, I once allegedly said something to someone that they found hurtful. I say “allegedly” because of those present, only one remembers this statement, it doesn’t sound like something I’d say, and I think something was misheard or misinterpreted somewhere. But this person chose not to address it at all and instead treated me horribly for about a year. I was put down and made fun of what felt like constantly, talked about behind my back, and generally made miserable in a way that I feel was retaliatory. My response was sort of lashing out online in a way that wasn’t great, and shit got ugly on both sides. But I did apologize for the alleged original statement anyway while also trying to hold the other party accountable for the awful way it was handled, because truly, it was unacceptable. That…did not go well at all. In the end, I chose to walk away from them.
2. What’s your favorite shade of blue? Lighter shades, as with most colors.
3. What’s a good song with ”yellow” in its lyrics or title? I mean, “Yellow” by Coldplay, obviously.
4. When have you recently witnessed extraordinary kindness? There are stories coming out of Ukraine that ease the heaviness of everything going on, as much as they can, anyway. The latest is people booking Airbnbs in Ukraine without intending to actually stay there, obviously, so the owners are getting some money.
5. What’s a good movie about personal strength in the face of overwhelming odds? I don’t know! It’s not quite the type of movie I tend to watch.

From Friday 5.