Because each individual views events in his or her own way, many discrepancies
exist within every story. Although this lack of accordance is at the foundation of human
perception, people continually struggle to grasp the truth. One example of this attempt to
grab hold of what really happened is my own endeavor to decide the facts of the matter
relating to my family's most recent party. On one side of the argument is my mother, and
on the other side is my grandmother. My role is merely to interpret the happenings of that
My mother is a friendly, free spirited woman who enjoys spending time with her
friends. Recently, the idea of having a small get-together for my grandparents' anniversary
occurred to my mother. This idea resulted in a hasty plan for a party that was thrown last
weekend. We all had the time of our lives at the gathering. Although everyone who
attended the shindig had a pleasant experience, the feeling of joy has not escaped the inner
In contrast to my mother's spontaneity, my grandmother is a calculating, cautious
individual. The idea of simply throwing a party without taking every little detail into
consideration disturbed my grandmother. Because the party that was held last weekend
was not well planned, it was a complete disaster in my grandmother's point of view until
she decided to relax a little about the whole situation.
The success of the party depends completely on who is recounting the story. In fact,
a little bit more than half of the people invited to take part in the festivities that evening
actually came. According to my mother, "It's no big deal." On the other hand, my
grandmother saw the lack of attendants as a result of my mother's hazardous planning.
My grandmother viewed the large amount of left-over food as wasteful; however, my
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