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Mean People on the Bus

How to Get them to Stop

By Iria Vasquez-PaezPublished 6 years ago 4 min read
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I lived in the Mission-Excelsior district while I was going to school at San Francisco State University. A bus route ran through that neighborhood as a way of getting to school. This incident happened on the 14 however, which went down Mission itself while the school line went to Ingleside. Living off campus was better than living on campus, as way too much drama was happening on campus, save me moving with normal roommates as well as accomplishing my desire to live with a graduate student on top of that. The school wasn’t having me move out of a toxic living environment. On the bus one day, I was going home from somewhere, when this guy puts his arm around my seat, so I leaned forward as not to have him actually touching me. The woman next to him was an elderly woman with extreme jealousy problems toward me.

She said really mean things in Spanish about my mental health symptoms, since I used to have them show in college, but now my current meds keep them at bay, not showing at all. It is hard to hide symptoms when not on meds or on the wrong meds. Maybe this was an incident that occurred during the semester I gave up on meds. Midway through, I decided to get back on the medication just to make sure I could continue to do well, and keep going to school without my constant phobias.

She called me a “nervosita” which in Spanish means, a very nervous, easily agitated person. She was busy saying mean things about me even if I did sit in the front of the bus where disabled people sit. She was ragging on me for a good block. I put her on ignore, doing my best to block her out. I can tough out symptoms of mental illness without medication but medication does make it so much easier to control your thoughts, behavior, and feelings.

One thing that happens to me when I’m not on the meds, is that I get needy. I get depressed, and I need human company way too much. I live by myself for a reason. Other people’s energy drives me crazy, plain and simple. This is why I chose not to have a roommate. If I did have a roommate, I would make sure that person is not mentally ill on top of that. I would have to live with someone who has a whole lot of nothing, with regard to mental illness symptoms. This woman was degrading me for going to school, which is something many people tried to do in that neighborhood. I’m independent enough to be my own person.

So I put their stuff on ignore. I really did walk around, ignoring. I mean there is nothing wrong with going to school, it’s just that people who don’t have the opportunity or who remain ignorant don’t take the opportunity to go to school at all. My immediate nuclear family is weak in the sciences as a subject they didn’t really get in school. I got science classes galore as part of my general Ed. It is why I have an interest in science to this day.

I lived with a family who had a house in the neighborhood I mentioned earlier. In college, many of my roommates were mean to me, except the parents of this family. The woman on the bus felt she could say rude things about my mental illness. I sat there, without taking the bait. I wouldn’t have known what to say in Spanish anyhow. My medication these days means that people do not mistreat me as much as they would if I was not on meds. I’m just relieved I do not have to deal with people mistreating me because of my symptoms anymore. This is what you get by being medication consistent, which is more than I can say for my former friends who are medication inconsistent. Some do not bother with taking medication every day. They really don’t get why they need to do that even after agreeing with me that this is sensible.

I have a college degree because of my medication consistency, my hard work, and my ability to write lucidly because of my medication. Now I make sure to take my medication every day. My whole life is about taking my medication in the evenings, as I have explained to some people I know who do not do this daily or at the dose the doctor orders you to take. At least I can follow my doctor’s orders. I do not deviate. I had to reschedule my appointment since I made the mistake of putting it the week I’m taking my accounting and bookkeeping class. I figured this class is a good one to take pre-MBA, in particular, since I do not have access to junior college yet. This will come with a job. Remember that when people try to bait you into being nasty, hold your tongue.

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About the Creator

Iria Vasquez-Paez

I have a B.A. in creative writing from San Francisco State. Can people please donate? I'm very low-income. I need to start an escape the Ferengi plan.

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