the best response is none at all

so despite all the burdens i have on my shoulders that came with the package of junior year, i've been trying to be a lot more positive than i've been in the past (except for that last sentence). i get into a lot of petty arguments with the people i talk to most often during the school day and at home, so what i'm trying to do is whenever i see a conversation or relationship in general headed in the wrong direction, i try to pause and think about whether it's really worth the trouble.

i experimented with this a bit today, and the day just ran a lot smoother. i noticed a lot of potential arguments that i normally would've pursued just to end up triumphant, but it's just unnecessary and stressful.

i spoke to this guy once, deepak jain, and though i thought he'd be like any other indian dad and just talk about how things were done in india, i listened to him. surprisingly, he was very american, very modern, and he related to the current generation very well. he said something along the lines of "the best response to anger is silence. you'll never repent for your silence," and i think that's a really brilliant statement.

you might think that's obvious and easy to do, but you'll be surprised how tough it is, but once you get it down, it's really satisfying.