Yes, there was a time I acted in a way that was reckless and inappropriate- I yelled at my boss.
Naturally, I hate to be accused falsely. It drives me crazy, especially when the other person isn’t even willing to hear me out or understand where I’m coming from. This was exactly what happened between me and my boss.
At the time, I worked in a small local restaurant as the service girl. He was the cook, it was just the two of us. After each day’s sales, if we didn’t sell all the food, we’d warm what was left and store it in the fridge. Because he had trust issues from past experiences with previous workers, he developed a habit of counting every piece of meat before putting them away.
I had never taken anything from the kitchen without his consent. No matter how hungry I got, I only ate what he gave me. Yet, I started noticing that he would frown the next morning after checking the meat. This happened on three separate occasions.
After each counting, his attitude toward me would change; no jokes, no light conversations. I suspected he thought I was stealing meat, but he never said it directly.
One day, after his usual counting, he called out to me sharply:
"Rita! This meat was 15, now it’s 13. Where are the remaining two?"
I was surprised. I tried explaining I had nothing to do with it, but he wouldn’t listen. He kept pressing, asking me to return the meat I never took.
That was the breaking point.
I had been holding back for so long, and in that moment, everything came out. I raised my voice (something I’m not proud of) and told him off. I reminded him how forgetful he often was, how that same forgetfulness had cost him many customers. I asked him if he really believed I would leave my house after closing just to steal two pieces of meat. I poured out everything that had been sitting heavy on my heart. I didn’t insult him, but my tone was harsh and loud- just too loud.
After the quarrel, I didn’t feel right. I wasn’t at peace. Even though I felt justified, the way I handled the situation haunted me. I had let my emotions take control. My voice echoed in my head long after tversion he words were spoken, and I could tell I had crossed a line. That wasn’t the part of me I wanted anyone, not even someone who wrongly accused me, to see.
Later on, I realized that even in the face of false accusations, there’s a better way to speak up for myself. I could have been firm without being loud. I could have expressed my hurt without exploding.
That experience taught me that our reactions can sometimes do more damage than the offense we’re reacting to. Since then, I’ve been learning to pause, breathe, and speak with calm strength no matter how unfair the situation feels.
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