Tajma Hall

  I am an only child. My mother and I are very much alike which often causes conflict in the house. We both talk alot and we both always think we are right. I have very strong opinions and my mother does as well. I find myself arguing with her over simple things. I have always been very independent. Anything and everything I have of value, I worked for. Things like privacy and peace of mind... I have to work for that as well. I do not wait for people do to things for me or expect anyone to. This has caused me to develop a need to voice my opinion at home and show my independence when my mom and I have conflict.

         The most recent disagreement my mother and I had was over a parking space. Something no one should ever argue about. I live right in the middle of downtown Chicago, so free parking is not always easy to find. There is an area near my house that is free to park if you are lucky to catch a space. My mom caught one and was relieved she would not have to pay the parking meter that day. She was so excited about the parking space that she did not drive the car for days so she would not lose it. One day, I needed the car to get to a meeting. I let her know ahead of time that I would need it and she said it was okay as long as we put our other car in the space to hold it until I came home. I agreed.

         The next day I had a few places to go by bus before my meeting. It took me longer than expected to get back home and I ended up running late. When I got home my mom did not answer her phone so that we could switch cars and hold our parking space. I called her eight times and left messages and no answer so I just left because I did not want to be late. She was very angry and called me yelling. I felt she was over reacting and we argued about it for days. All over a parking space. This is just a small story of many but it shows how easy it is to have conflict with a family memeber. Sarah from Take the Cannoli, handle conflict with her father much better than I do with my mother. I commend her for that.

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"You don't make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas" - Shirley Hifsteddler

          In my book, I have not seen my character complain much about things like this. I feel like she is too focused on dealing with her problems to complain about what others do not have. Personally, the quote I posted above explains my view of complaining. I feel complaining is a total waste of a person's time. If people spent as much time complaining about their problems as they did fixing their problems, they would not have any. Complaining is an act of being lazy. If Alephonsion felt strongly enough to complain about what others did not have, he should have done something about it. To complain is a "action-less" action. It does not contribute to progress or positivity