Compromise
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I believe in the humbling quality of compromise.

By: Alessandra

Being the middle child of three girls, I have gown to understand this concept. All three of us are so close in age, that when I was younger I learned right away that I could not always have what I wanted, the way I wanted it. I also realized that just because I don’t like something, doesn’t mean everyone doesn’t like it either. Over the years I have learned to turn to compromise when something doesn’t suit my liking. I try to change my view and look at each conflict with a positive perspective.

When I was younger, and my family and I went on trips to visit my grandparents overseas, all I had were my sisters to play with. As usual we would never agree on the same game. Whether it was creating little concoctions out of anything we could find in the garden or building forts with our beds. My sisters would always choose one game and me the other. I then had to make the decision of either play all by myself or find a way to make their game more enjoyable for me. This is how I came across the beauty of compromise. Though I started off stubborn, not wanting to change my ways, I soon realized that it was a lot more fun playing with others than alone. So choosing their game over mine, with the new mindset of how great it is to actually have sisters to play with, made everything so much better. I would decide to play their game and later on it would be my turn to choose. Overall compromising, even back then, turned out to be the better choice.

Starting college this life philosophy has definitely come into play. Sharing a room with a total stranger is tough, but sharing a room with a total stranger who is also your total opposite is even harder. It was easier with my sisters because we were all fairly similar, but my roommate and I are from completely different ends of the spectrum. One of our main differences is sleep. I go to bed around 11pm on weeknights, and wake up around 8 in the morning. On the other hand she stays out until 2 or 3am and sleeps throughout different times of the day. This is when the beauty of compromise takes its place. We mutually decided that I would be extra quiet in the mornings and she would be extra quiet at night. Though it is not always the case, at least we are both trying. With all the other differences between us, I try to think of possible ways to work them out. I also try to flip each situation, putting myself in her shoes and seeing how I'd like to be treated. I also look at it, that if the spectrum were to be a circle rather than a straight line, then we are actually more similar than one would think.

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