A Great Lesson Finally Sinks In

Throughout the course of my life I`ve learned quite a few things. Unfortunately, a lot of that mysterious information has remained stagnant in my mind for years and years, and is only just now starting to really click. I suppose life`s lessons only make sense once you`ve really experienced life.

One of the greatest lessons came in high school during a ninth grade Economics class. The woman who imparted the knowledge was a teacher of mine named Miss Rogers, a person whom I consider a great educator in her own way and my only teacher-turned-friend. She had a reputation in the school for being a bit odd, perhaps eccentric. People silently compared her to Miss Cleo for her hair wraps and clothing choices, complained about learning nothing in her class, and were confused about her teaching methods, one of which including giving extra credit for attempting to teach her dances like the Harlem Shake. I took an immediate liking to her because of her uniqueness. Aside from teaching me to knit, I thank her profusely for teaching me this important lesson. In her classroom she posted a phrase, ridiculously simple and yet the most profound thing I`ve heard regarding interpersonal relationships: People are different. Back then I was a good student, and a bit sophomoric. I thought I knew it all, so to that statement I replied, "Well, duh! Of course people are different!" Only after years of life`s experiences have I come to truly understand its meaning. And my time in Panama has really helped it all fit together.

I`ve spent a lot of time here being really frustrated about one thing or another. Things move at a much slower pace. Often, I feel like people aren`t actually listening to me, but instead waiting for their turn to speak. A fellow volunteer observed that several community members try to take advantage of us and don`t always look out for our best interests. Our teachers occasionally seem unwilling to change their methods and mistake our suggestions for haughty, presumptuous American sense of superiority. I wonder if people know why we the Peace Corps are here and what it is we do, or rather, what we try our best to do. All these things had me bogged down and I asked myself a million useless questions: Why don`t these people even try to recycle? Why do they look at me weird for drinking plenty of water and insisting on eating fruits and vegetables instead of simply consuming fried foods and starch? Why does it often seem like these teachers don`t take their job seriously, or want to improve their lacking English skills? Why do Panamanians shout on the bus when I just want quiet and then clam up when I ask them to speak up in class? Why did they just sit back and let those puppies die? Why? And then it came to me. Why do they do all these things? Because people are different.

The beauty of that phrase is that you can just leave it at that. In those cases where things didn`t work for me, I kept trying to understand why people are the way they are. Often it is helpful to investigate cultural or religious differences that might provide reasoning for people`s actions, but sometimes, it`s just not going to make sense to us because of our subjective point of view. Accepting the inconvenient, yet universal truth that people are who they are, different from you, and won`t always change just for you, can help you avoid a world of frustration. However, it takes a really long time for it to sink in. I still get bent out of shape about a lot of things, but that phrase is gradually becoming my mantra. Building up thick skin will help make life less stressful. I just have to continue doing the best I can do and let people do things their way. Hopefully, our efforts can create some synergy. If not, meh. At least I tried.

So thanks again, Miss Rogers. I get it. People are different.