Interesting Character Types

Keeping up good relationships with people is one of the hardest task of life, I think. Do you ever meet people that rub you the wrong way and you can never pinpoint the reason for it but your personality just doesn't jive with that person's personality? You try to get away so as not to be uncharitable to that person but that person always manages to seek you out? This happened to me on a couple of occasions at school. I find it very humorous sometimes to look back on these moments because there is one question that comes to my mind: How did I get myself in such a situation? It was just bizzare!" The key is to never take yourself (or these situations) too seriously; rather it is best to smile and go on your merry way. There was a young man at the school who was interested in a young lady who is close to me. (I will leave their names out of this blog so as not to embarass anyone). The young man was a philosophy major and a literature minor and he was fascinated with music and the art of poetry. Sort of reminded me of a wanna-be Shelley, Keats or Shakespeare rolled into one! However, he was a little too wrapped up in becoming one of these poets to notice that the young lady was not impressed by his wooing techniques. She came from the school that action speaks louder than words and his action was just embarassing, not convincing that he truly loved her. He was very persistent in his pursuit and being a follower vs. leader type, she needed to have some guidance on how to handle him. This is where I came in. This young lady and I had been attending a Western Civilization II class for an hour and then we went to the library to see if we could find some research material for a paper we had to write the following month. There we were at the computers in the library looking up stuff when low and behold, the young lady saw the young man walking toward us playing a song on his little guitar! I had not seen the young man before this occasion and if I had, I didn't know it. The young lady was leery of making eye contact with him but deep down in heart I think she wanted me to meet him to get my impressions. He was very aggressive in his pursuits and upon seeing "the girl of his dreams" (so he thought!) in his sights, he happily advanced toward her strumming away. The fact that I was there too was of little consequence to him! After he and I were formally introduced, he sat down and played us a song which he had composed himself. He finished, and I asked the young lady to check the library for the needed research material. While she was gone, he read me part of his paper on Thomas Aquinas and philosophized on the great intelligence of Aquinas, probably thinking he equalled the philosopher in intelligence. I agreed with the young man that Thomas Aquinas was a brilliant philosopher and added "He was a great saint!" You see, I had filled my brain for an hour with all sorts of great history knowledge and now my brain needed a rest. It didn't need to philosophize because at that time, it hadn't been exposed to philosophy yet. Plus, I couldn't compete or relate fully to his conversation so I brought him back to basics, some common ground by acknowledging Aquinas's sanctity. He quickly switched philosophy back to music and with my polite consent, he sang me another song which he composed. The young lady had disappeared into the library for a full ten minutes and only reappeared just as he finished his song. "What great timing!" I thought. By this time I was absolutely exhausted and not in the best of moods as I was in great pain from sitting too long. I respectively asked to leave and the young lady willing escorted me out to our car so I could lie down. On our way out she asked me for my impression of the young man. I was not in very a charitable or patient mood so I wasn't sure whether give my opinion right then or wait for a better time. He irked me and I'm afraid that I was too eager to unload my irritations. She wanted to hear what I had to say as negative, uncharitable and unsympathetic as I was. Oh brother! So I told her straight out! She had felt a little irritated toward him too but she was much more docile and charitable in her treatment of him than I would have been.