The highlight of the last few days has been the diverse interactions i’ve had with people, all of whom were complete strangers and were both vastly positive and negative. I realize and accept that I will never please everyone or one single person all of the time. This was very difficult to accept, but after the last few days, I have realized that I just might have a little more patience than most, and a 20 second interaction can really have lasting impact.

One lesson I was forced to learn the hard way was that no matter how many times you apologize, there are people who will never accept it. I realize this is more difficult when you’re apologizing to a stranger and they cannot detect your sincerity. The only way I was able to get past this was to just accept that sometimes, no matter how hard you try, it’s not going to be good enough, especially if the other side is already so negative. Once again, the only thing I have control over is my own reaction to people like this, and I had no choice but to move on knowing that I tried and stay positive.

Another lesson I learned tonight was that a twenty second interaction with a stranger can change the entire mood of a semi typical day. I walked into Walmart and the sweetest greeter asked how my night was going and I told him all was well, which was mainly true. I smiled at him as I walked away and he thanked me. I was a little confused because I didn’t know what I did, and he immediately looked at me and said, “a smile is one of the few things that you can give for free.” He then told me most people just walk right past him daily without acknowledging him.

I understand that everyone reacts to everything and everyone differently, but 20 seconds with both of these strangers this week affected my entire day, and still now when I think back to both of them. You never know what someone else is experiencing and I try to think about this when I am interacting with everyone. I make mistakes, and sometimes I’m in a rush and don’t notice everything or everyone around me, but sometimes the one thing you say to someone will stick with them, like this morning I was getting ready and the first thing I heard was, “You’re not suppose to wear white after Labor Day.” This is just one of the many fashion rules I’ve decided to never follow. Regardless, we are all human and we all have feelings. We won’t always please everyone, but I choose being kind instead of being rude, most times it works, but sometimes like recently, it doesn’t, and that is still OK.

Steal my look today: For Love and Lemons Dress: For Love and Lemons, AVA Sweater: T.J. Maxx