An awkwardly-named life skill, but useful all the same. Learning how to have difficult conversations is one of those things no one really wants to think about. Many people I know (myself included) would prefer to never have difficult conversations, if at all possible. However, holding one's frustration close to the vest and muttering for months about how inconsiderate people are is much more disruptive to internal peace and balance. Trust me, I know.
(Okay, I admit, I've read some advice columns that I've come across in my daily internet-trawling. But just because they're advice columns, doesn't mean they don't have good advice. In fact, you'd hope they would have better advice than some others, paid as they are to give it.)
I thought I wouldn't have to worry about these conversations concerning my living situation, since I am paying for a single-person apartment. Except, I'm living in a basement. In a house with thin walls. And a door from my bedroom to the rest of the basement. The rest of the basement, which apparently contains my landlords' washer/dryer and broom/utility closet.
This state of affairs has resulted in many frustrating mornings, with me trying to sleep in to the comfortably late hours of 8 or 9, and my landlords getting up purposefully and regularly around 7, walking around, getting breakfast, sweeping, cleaning, vacuuming, doing laundry... So I get woken up several times between those two sets of hours. Incidentally, I end up sleeping later to try to make up for the lost time between 7 and 8 or 9am.
Leading me to my next difficult conversation, which I mean to have on my way to campus to finish and start my essays due this week.
Update: I spoke confidently and without hesitation, and thus the conversation went remarkably well. Practice makes perfect? Readiness is all?
No comments:
Post a Comment