It’s okay if it’s not your cup of tea.

I guess it started with me reading a new book. The usual way my mind begins to revolve around ideas. I can’t read a book like most people a few chapters each night before bed kind of deal. No. I gotta read it all right now. I need to know what happens right away. Split me up away from the book for meals or go visit friends and I am cranky and moody until I get back to my spot and dive back into whatever this world is that I just made myself a part of. 

I stopped at lunch today to have food with the family before going back to my book. My husband made a comment. A simple comment we hear something like this all the time. He said, “that’s not my idea of good coleslaw.” Of course being me I challenged him and said, “it might be someone else’s.” then he stopped and went on with the normal defensive but it’s not mine this is gross blah blah. 

Now think about it. Yes I know all this came to me over coleslaw. However it made me really want to write this. We are individuals. My students are individuals. My friends are individuals. We don’t have to like everything the same as someone else. That’s what makes us individuals. What we need to do is not criticize someone because their likes and dislikes differ from ours. We also need to be able to put things aside and do what is right no matter if we like something or someone or we don’t. If something is wrong it’s wrong. You need to put your personal feels aside and focus on right or wrong. 

My friends and I have all sorts of different interests but we learn from each other and we support each other even if we don’t always like the same things. Just because something is not your taste like food or music does that mean it cannot be someone else’s? Does that mean you have the right to put someone down because they like something that you don’t. 

In the last couple days I’ve been put down for this reason. I cannot argue with my own feelings if I hear something and it makes me happy, if I taste something and it tastes good to me, if I watch something that makes me smile, if I read something that hooks me for hours. I shouldn’t feel bad about any of those things just because someone else doesn’t enjoy them. 

So many people confuse a persons tastes with the person they are so I’m here to say if it’s not your cup of tea, who cares. Stop putting down people who enjoy it. 

I am in love with Ferris wheels. From childhood. The memories and excitement thril me. The view at the top. The lights and laughter. The scenes in movies that are so cheesy you can’t help but smile. My husband hates them. Sometimes he comes with me and sometimes he doesn’t. That doesn’t change us. The Ferris wheel is also important in a book I just read. A simple example of my tastes. 

As I finish this I’m sitting next to someone who says she cannot read a book. She’s bored. She falls asleep. She wants real facts and can’t even think of reading fiction. She asked me if her political television show was boring her and said, ” yes but your talking to someone who just read a whole book in the last twenty four hours.” We don’t let this bother us. We focus on our love of playing cards and visiting with each other and telling the news. 

So the next time you think about your tastes and how they may not match someone else remember you are an individual and anyone who truly wants to get to know you will find the common areas and respect the differences. 

Just because something is not your cup of tea doesn’t mean it’s wrong. Just because something is not appealing to your ears or your mouth doesn’t mean it’s bad. It’s just not your cup of tea.