Pollyanna? Me?

People say things without really knowing the meaning behind the words they choose to blurt out. And if I have learned anything along these 50 years, one thing that I have learned ( the hard way) is that not everyone says a word meaning the same as the one who listens. Words mean different things to different people. Loads of misunderstandings happen because of this.

Anyhow, I have just finished reading Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter. The reason why I started to read it is because someone at worked let out a “You´re so Pollyanna” at me the other day so I decided to read it to see what it meant to be Pollyanna.

Pollyanna tells the story of a young girl who comes from a Christian family and a rough childhood. She loses her parents at an early age and has to go live with a mean aunt. In a nutshell, she ends up making the whole town change their ways and look at life in a more positive way. Until in the end she is put to the test and all her hard work with the people in the town has paid off.

Now, am I so Pollyanna? Well, to be honest I thought she was a bore. So perhaps I am a bore. Maybe it would be wise to make a list here of her characteristics and then match them to mine.

1.      She comes from a Christian family. I don´t. I come from a Catholic family.

2.      She lost her parents at an early age. I didn´t. Mom is still alive and dad passed away this past February at 76.

3.      She tries to see positive things in negative situations. I do that some times.

4.      She cannot see the negative side of a situation. I can.

5.      She loves everyone she meets and tries to help each one of them. I don´t.

6.      (spoiler alert) She stops walking and is bedridden and then has a really hard time finding something positive in that. Same thing happened to me but I was able to accept the condition faster than her. And after hard work, faith and willpower, I regained my strength and was able to walk again.

7.      She is loved by the people around her and she transforms their lives. Some people say that I am an inspiration. But I know that not everyone is pleased with my presence.

          To conclude, I guess that I can be somewhat of a Pollyanna. I would just like to remember who said it to me so I can check with them what they meant by it.

(By the way, I have started reading Pollyanna Grows Up. Let´s see if I can still see myself in this character.)Written June 26, 2017

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