Today, someone raised my temper.......That is, until I realized that the person who did it holds very little power over me. I realized that there will always be people like that, thorns in your side that get under your skin. That is, until you realize you hold the strength to pull them out, even if the pruning is quite painful. While the pain is intense, it doesn't last that long in the grand scheme of your life.
I don't need anyone dictating my life, telling me how to be or whether my reasons for action were legitimate. Time will tell the tale and I will reap the consequences of my actions. While yes, there will always be rules I need to follow, whether through work, school, church, or other aspects of my life, no one can form my soul to their measure. No one can mold me to a cookie cutter shape, will me to bend in their direction or take the pieces they like while discarding the ones they don't.
I am me. I am many things. I am a student, a worker, an activist, a musician, a writer, a blogger, a daughter, a sister, a friend. I identify as American by nationality, Italian-American by ethnicity and culture and Roman Catholic by faith, but these cannot begin to capture my essence, who I am as a person. I'm passionate about pro-life but also the environment and I take strong stands against poverty. I don't like to identify myself with my looks, for I understand that they will change, with age, with style, and with other factors. I'm sensitive, fiery, sometimes sarcastic, sometimes brusque, but always striving to know, to learn, and to love, despite my many imperfections. I love learning languages. I'm deeply spiritual, not just religious. I drink a lot of tea and coffee. I'm obsessed with the French and the Florentines but am bound for Africa. I'm a city girl and NYC and DC are my two loves. I'm loud. And I've just realized that I no longer care what others may say or think about me.
This is who I am. I'm sick of people's efforts to change me, to make me something different. I'm not who you want me to be. I'm trying to be who I want to be, who God wants me to be, as He made me. I cannot do both, just like I cannot have two masters. If the former was my master, I'd die a cruel death. Thus, I make this as my stand.
"A King may move a man. But the soul belongs to a man." Kingdom of Heaven.
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