Moments.

There is no such thing as a perfect reaction, I believe.  There are moments that pass that you remember forever, but rarely because you had control over their perfection.  The moment just happened that way.  Or worse, you wish that you could have somehow fixed them, made them to have been perfect, to have gotten your point across in a more descriptive manor.  The things you regret most are rarely the things that you've said, but rather the things that you kept inside when the moment needed to hear those words dearly.  Those are the moments that you wish you could have changed.  Somehow, we rarely find ourselves saying the perfect thing, unless of course we already had it planned out in our minds.  But if you live on my planet, you already know that the best laid plans go astray.  And that's just life, showing us once again that we can try as hard as we would like but we are not in control.

So the best thing that we can do is to just be honest, because those moments of imperfect honesty are what show our true character.  For that is all we really are, strands of imperfection woven into a work of art that takes years upon years to complete.  My work of art is nowhere near complete, and I'm alright with that.  I know that I'm not perfect, I know that the honesty or dishonesty in which I react to a situation could very well change someone's opinion on me for life.  But that's not about my character, that's my reputation.  Something that none of us have control over.  My character is who I am; a person of integrity, who has made mistakes, but has tried to make everything right despite the challenges that lay ahead.  My reputation is how others depict what they have witnessed or heard; which is both fact and fiction.  Sometimes through rumors I find out things that I never knew about myself before, because people are just that creative.  They can call me what they want, it won't change who I am, only who they are.

So live your life with as much patience, joy, and honesty as you can.  Live in the moment always, and without the fear of ruining it.  And should your reputation proceed you, forgive the community and move forward, proving time and time again who you really are.  Because in fifty years, the rumor mill won't remember the false things that it churned out about you -but the people who you made an impression on, the people who saw and appreciated your true character, you will live on in their hearts forever.  So be strong, love much, and good luck.

Love,
Alice