[Bamboozled]

Originally posted by James
To answer the original scenario:

When I was younger (like a week ago lol) I used to be really sensitive to some stuff. Its almost like I had a chip on my shoulder.

If someone said the wrong thing, or asked the wrong question, I got highly offended and felt uncomfortable.

I was super sensitized you might say. Like a bee sting, for most people its barely annoyance, some people swell up, others die right?

But during 8th grade I had an epiphany. I realized that most people didn't mean any harm at all, it was my sensitivity that was causing me harm.

For the most part, people were not being rude or what they would consider invasive, they were just genuinely curious or being friendly.

That made me realize that they didn't have a problem, I did. I had developed a problem that allowed othes to control my mental well-being without them even trying!

And it didn't do me any good. Being super sensitive was not in anyway improving the quality of my life or helping me succeed.

I realized that other people do not have an obligation to walk on egg shells because of my hang-ups. Earned hang-ups or not. It was a counterproductive way to think.

So I got over it. It took a few years for my emotional reaction to match my new intellectual understanding, but I faked it till I made it.

And with letting that go, I let other stuff go to that really wasn't all that important. It made me feel better an decreased my stress.

I just wanted to share.

Thanks for sharing, I guess. So basically, you're telling me to get over it, right? Honestly, I'm not surprised by your post. It was very typical. If you read this entire thread you will see that others would have felt the same way I did in this situation and, I believe, justifiably so. So, I guess we're just all too sensitive, right? I've said several times that I didn't think the question was asked maliciously and that I harbor no ill feelings towards my co-workers. Did you read that part? And to be completely honest with you, since you are not African-American (and I specifically mean someone whose ancestors were brought from Africa to America as slaves), your opinion holds no value. You have the luxury of knowing your family history, so how can you attempt to have an opinion on something you can't even begin to comprehend? The more I think about it, the more I'm appalled that you felt obligated to insert your two cents into a very productive thread. Therefore, I will not even entertain anything else you feel the need to add. Good day.