My Friend Phoebe: The Hard Core

While recently discussing some of my woes of office politics and other frustrating experiences as of late, my oft-quoted co-worker, Phoebe (who is roughly my same age), said to me matter-of-factly, "I don't let that kind of stuff bother me. Me? I'm a hard core."

Let me just state here that anytime a Kenyan wants to talk about him- or herself, he/she always prefaces the statement with "Me" or any other plural personal pronoun. Love it. And it's quite possibly a habit that I may or may not be picking up in my colloquialisms.

But, back to being a "hard core."

Yes, Phoebe, you are absolutely right. You are a tougher woman than I'll ever be. You deal with things in your life that I only hear about (like unearthly huge spiders in your closets and a child with whooping cough). I could learn to be more like you. I should learn to be more like you. Life is hard. And some people's lives are harder than others. You are showing me that what really matters is how we approach the life we've been given.

One of my favorite quotes of all times is by Charles R. Swindoll. Growing up, my Dad used to always quote the second to last line, which has shaped my attitude, and ultimately my life, in some crucial moments. It wasn't until just recently that I found the rest of the quote:

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes."

So. Lesson #1 in the Kenyan Chronicles: Be a Hard Core.

Thanks, Phoebe, for being the tough chick that I hope to someday be.

[But, don't let the ease of my words fool you. Some things are easier said than done. (See post below.)]