I was talking to a friend last week and being in the same line, we ended up griping about the teens we work with.  Whilst I’ve said that I like working with them, but I’ve never mentioned about those rare ones who are totally obnoxious.  Respect doesn’t seem to be a word that exist in their limited vocabulary.

Well, I’ve had my fair share of dealing with a few of these teens before but I’ve always tried to be as patient as I can.  Teenage angst is something I understand totally as I was once the rebel that all teachers would love to dispose of.  But sometimes, these kids do get on my nerve and when that happens, they’ll get a taste of my wrath.  I can get pretty snarky if I want to. 

However, the thing I always work towards is to reconcile with them at the end, to make them understand why it’s important for them to fit into the system.  And I’m happy to say that it usually turns out well.

Reconciliation is very important for me, whether in my work or personal life.  I don’t like to sleep on anger, grudges and hatred especially if the other person matters to me.  I think being able to achieve an understanding with the other is an important step to move forward and be happy.  Life is afterall about relationships.  I firmly believe that the state of relationships we have largely determines how joyous and fulfilled we will be. 

But what happens if we can’t achieve that level of understanding?   Sometimes, we just can’t see eye-to-eye with the other and even after attempts at reconciliation, the matter is still unresolved and the anger still simmers.  Or perhaps, feelings have completely changed and the relationship can no longer be salvaged.

Well, I usually aim for a closure at the least but I would say it doesn’t always happen so.  Closure means finding inner peace but I found that the closures I thought I had really never quite happened because they’ll always surface once in a while to haunt me, sometimes making me break out in cold sweat in the middle of the night.

So I guess this is how emotional baggages come about, when we cannot achieve reconciliation nor find closure.  And this is certainly a new discovery to me. 

Because until last week, I thought the only baggages I had were those in my storeroom, under my table and under my eyes.