Assaulted on the 6

The day of my last final, May 15, I was attacked on the 6 train. I was entering the subway at 22nd and Park heading downtown. I hooked around the stair railing to head down the stairs on the right. Everyone knows how to walk up and down stairs, keep to the right. On this particular morning I was about to descend the stairs when a “rule breaker” was walking up the stairs on the left. She went to hook around the corner to head out of the stair well on the left; doing the reverse of what I was doing. We came to a stand still. I was waiting for her to pass and she refused to go around me. So I looked up and said, “Excuse me.” To which she said, “ex-cuse me!” I just starred at her for a second, and then I said, “there are two sides to the stairs you know!” To which she said, “you’re in my WAY!” So, since I was already stressed out and heading to my last final I walked around her, angry to be backing down, but also knowing this was so stupid and childish. However, because I was so pissed, I said, “Fat.” as I passed her. Then I felt bad. Saying fat to someone is stooping pretty low, some would say, uncalled for. Although I didn’t say that she was fat, I did say fat in her general direction. As I was contemplating my behavior she hooked around the left of the stair well and then reached down over the side and ripped a huge chunk of my hair out. For a second I thought I wasn’t going to get away, or that she was going to reach down and give me a right hook to the face. But she just ripped the chunk of my hair out and kept walking. I got on the 6 and headed to my final, pulling out the remaining chunks of hair for another 10 minutes or so. Some time has passed now and I am now over it, but I have gone through a range of emotions as I took a good look at myself, asking myself a plethora of questions: “what does this say about me?” “what does this say about my temper?” “What does this say about my patience?” “What kind of person am I?” However, I have come to the conclusion that sticks and stones can break my bones, but ripping someone’s hair out is always assault.