Independent's Day

"Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Just walk beside me and shut the frick up."

- Arnetta Green

Haaa! (Said obnoxiously loud). The quote doesn't go like that, as I'm sure you already know but that's how I feel most of the time. Want to know what really burns my cookies? (And yes, I say "burns my cookies" all the time. I got that from some cute little old lady, who was really angry at something-and I loved it, and I love her. So thank you cute little old lady!) So yeah, what burns my cookies is bossy people. I absolutely can't stand bossy people. It's been that way since the beginning of time.

I remember a loong looong time ago, I had to have been three or four years old. My twin sister and I (yes, I have a twin) were in daycare or pre-K (told you it was a while back). And there was this loud, little girl with crazy braids shooting up all over her head. After lunch, we were at recess and she was bossing me and my sister around. "Push me on the swing, help me get on the see-saw, pull me on the wagon." I don't know how it ended up happening, but I remember giving my twin sister the side eye once the little girl got into the wagon. We both pulled the wagon to the top of a hill and pushed, watching the little girl scream as the little red wagon careened to the bottom of the hill, landing in a pile of mud. (That is one creepy-ass story when I think about it. We were like those twins on "The Shining." lol) But yes, never liked bossy people. Even as a toddler.

It could just be my personal hangup. Most people don't mind following direction. But me? Absolutely not! Probably because I tend to be a magnet for dominating people (kindness for weakness syndrome). But it's mainly because I'm an artist, so there's a bit of an independent streak to my personality. To the detriment of the so called "leader" types, being this way has made me quite self sufficient which means there's not a lot of people who can say that they were a part of my successes. I can go into a corner and come out with a masterpiece if given time, space and freedom. The only time this is a problem is when I'm around some bossy ass nosey ass person, who needs someone to dominate. In my opinion, a real leader is born out of necessity and usually because people naturally start to follow them, not because they go around trying to recruit. So if there is no reason for me to exist, I exist to be contrary and annoying to people who think I'm subservient. Which makes me kind of an a-hole, lol.

So on the other end, I am far from a leader. People tend to not want to follow me. I don't know if I seem lost or "out of it." I just know that I never seem to be on the same page as the rest of the world, so people tend to be boggled by my ability to excel first, in school, and later on in my career. I used to be offended by that, but now I find it flattering and fun to surpass people's expectations. Well, she can't be that crazy, she seems to be doing sort of okay in her personal life. (LOL, Oh, yes, I can be that crazy!) And then only after people see that there's a method to my madness, everybody wants to join the team and jump on the bandwagon. That's when I say, sorry folks, there's only room for one passenger on this train wreck.

It's fun being me!

So, in conclusion, I guess if this world was divided into leaders and followers, I would have to check the box that says "independent" because I don't fit well into either one of those categories.