I was born with an upper lip that seemed to be cut in half. This is called cleft lip. It’s nothing serious, nothing that could harm a person. Many people think it’s the same as cleft palate, which means that the child doesn’t only have a “cut” lip, but also a trench-like cut through their palate all the way to the uvula, and is tougher to cure. What I had was much, much milder, so I was lucky in that sense. Still, a cleft palate isn’t something you’d like to have. Not because it affects a person in any way, or it's something to be ashamed of, but because you have to go through an operation at a very young age and risk it not going well, (which in my case it luckily did go well) but because you’re left with a scar for the rest of your life.
The worst thing about having cleft lip is the questions. I don’t blame people, it’s normal. I relate to those who ask because I’d do it too, but it’s still something to bear with. I used to get annoyed when people constantly asked me about this, but this was a long time ago, because about four years ago, I was at the beach and I saw a kid that had a patch in his eye, and I asked him about it, and he got very annoyed at it, and coincidentally, a few minutes later someone asked me about my scar, and when I was about to get annoyed, I realized how I was just like the kid who’d asked me, and I haven’t gotten mad when people ask me about it since.
Empathy is the key to living in harmony, to not getting angry about every little detail that doesn’t go your way. I you can’t put yourself in someone else’s shoes, how can you understand when they make a mistake, and if you can’t understand why someone makes a mistake, isn’t it much harder to forgive them? If I got mad every time someone asked me why I have a scar above my lip then I’d be mad all day, but frankly I’m a person that’s happy almost all the time. However, if the same person asked me over and over again, probably because he just wants to annoy me, I would get mad, or at least let them know that I’m tired of them, because it’s okay to let your anger out once in awhile, but making sure that once you’ve let it out, not to let it ruin your day.
Some people get mad much easily than others. There are people that seem to be mad all day long, others that tend to be in a good mood but as soon as something doesn’t go their way their day is ruined, other who get mad every once in awhile, and a small group of people who you couldn’t get mad even if you tried. I feel that the third option is the best, because even though a life with no anger, where you forgive everything that happens to you might seem very relaxing, I feel that you’d be kind of a pushover, a floormat. On the other hand, getting angry about absolutely everything that happens to you won’t let you enjoy the good things that go on while you’re too busy complaining and feeling annoyed. I don’t let the occasional question or comment about my scar get to me, mainly because they’re usually not ill-intentioned, and even if they are I just let them slide, but when they’re not, I put myself in the other person’s shoes, realize I’d do it as well, and continue what I was doing.
The worst thing about having cleft lip is the questions. I don’t blame people, it’s normal. I relate to those who ask because I’d do it too, but it’s still something to bear with. I used to get annoyed when people constantly asked me about this, but this was a long time ago, because about four years ago, I was at the beach and I saw a kid that had a patch in his eye, and I asked him about it, and he got very annoyed at it, and coincidentally, a few minutes later someone asked me about my scar, and when I was about to get annoyed, I realized how I was just like the kid who’d asked me, and I haven’t gotten mad when people ask me about it since.
Empathy is the key to living in harmony, to not getting angry about every little detail that doesn’t go your way. I you can’t put yourself in someone else’s shoes, how can you understand when they make a mistake, and if you can’t understand why someone makes a mistake, isn’t it much harder to forgive them? If I got mad every time someone asked me why I have a scar above my lip then I’d be mad all day, but frankly I’m a person that’s happy almost all the time. However, if the same person asked me over and over again, probably because he just wants to annoy me, I would get mad, or at least let them know that I’m tired of them, because it’s okay to let your anger out once in awhile, but making sure that once you’ve let it out, not to let it ruin your day.
Some people get mad much easily than others. There are people that seem to be mad all day long, others that tend to be in a good mood but as soon as something doesn’t go their way their day is ruined, other who get mad every once in awhile, and a small group of people who you couldn’t get mad even if you tried. I feel that the third option is the best, because even though a life with no anger, where you forgive everything that happens to you might seem very relaxing, I feel that you’d be kind of a pushover, a floormat. On the other hand, getting angry about absolutely everything that happens to you won’t let you enjoy the good things that go on while you’re too busy complaining and feeling annoyed. I don’t let the occasional question or comment about my scar get to me, mainly because they’re usually not ill-intentioned, and even if they are I just let them slide, but when they’re not, I put myself in the other person’s shoes, realize I’d do it as well, and continue what I was doing.