Home Advantage

One thing I've been reminded of over the last few years is the whole thing of, or advantages of, being home. Having been the "new guy" several times already, it's been interesting to kind of see how I've needed to change or adjust certain things to the context of my surroundings and environment. People are generally so built upon routines that it is sometimes very uneasy to bring in change. Certain things need to be done a certain way, or this needs to be like that.

What I've noticed that's kind of neat (haven't decided if it's good, bad, or neutral yet) about me having to adjust and adapt to so many new places in the last three years is how I've brought my own upbringing and heritage into the enrironment, and seeing whether or not it is generally accepted. There's actually so many different habits and diferent things I've developed in the different places that I sometimes don't even know where I'll have learned something from.

Usually I get push backs for suggesting to do something a certain way, and understandably so. I'm the new guy, so usually you would think I should be sensitive of how things are done in this particular situation rather than how I had done it at home.

The positive times where someone is actually nice enough to entertain and welcome my ideas always leave me incredibly greatful. I'm pretty confident to say that most of the time I want to do something a certain way, I don't really have a specific reason for it; it's just how I've seen it done, have it kind of work, and therefore take it to use for myself. So while some people are really aggravating and always have some kind of a retaliation, I think I end up appreciating the feedback more often than not because I get to take the opportunity to think about why it is that I really do things the way that I do. Whatever the pushy people think, that's fine; they are allowed to have their opinion, and often what they think won't really affect me very much if it's as unreasonable as it's perceived to be.

I do my best to be as flexible and as open a person as possible. Obviously, this is easier some times more than others. After all, I, too, have a certain upbringing that's brought me to where I am. I'll have my own opinion on certain things, but I don't really expect you to accept it as dogma. I don't try to force it upon you, so I'd at least expect you to be the same with your opinions. Although, at this point in time, anything that I've brought from anywhere is all hazy because my memory just seems to mash things all together: the past being the past.

What I'm really saying, I think, is that we're all just entitled muh'f...