optimism.

anyone that interacts with me on a semi-regular basis knows a few basic things.

I am cynical. I am sarcastic. I am blunt. I am opinionated. I am judgmental. I am critical. I am negative.

but here's the thing; I understand and recognize those character traits are ones that I posses. I have known for years. I am fully aware that people can get a bad impression of me because those qualities are so frequently displayed.
guess what.
if I had a problem with that, I would have changed it when I won awards for my art of being a bitch in high school.

my cynicism comes from the fact that so many people have led me to understand the reality that people are not always decent or good.
my sarcasm comes from my ability to understand situations and the absurdity of them.
my blunt comments come from the belief that people should be honest rather than petty and fake.
my opinions come from life-long observations of how people act and the impression they give me.
my judgments come from noticing things that I hope not to be or do.
my criticism comes from being told to and having the natural ability to think analytically.
my negativity comes from an awareness of the bad that is all around me in situations, in others, and most importantly within myself.

you may not agree with my behaviors or my personality or my views on people and life but I don't need you to, just like I don't need to approve of yours. everyone is entitled to their own opinions. I am in no way saying that my negative character traits are acceptable and should be embraced by those around me. all I am saying is that you have your personality, and I have mine.
why in the world can't we both accept that?

if you don't like me, I encourage you to be honest and accepting of that opinion. I'm sorry that any positive qualities I might posses haven't been enough to overshadow your focus on my negative ones. but clearly you have reasons to think that way and I haven't tried to prevent you from forming that opinion.

so can we just accept the reality that we don't like each other and realize that life is still going on?