Who does she think she is?

I asked the Zebra:

Are you black with white stripes?
Or white with black stripes?

And the zebra asked me:

Are you good with bad habits?
Or are you bad with good habits?
Are you noisy with quiet times?
Or are you quiet with noisy times?
Are you happy with some sad days?
Or are you sad with some happy days?
Are you neat with some sloppy ways?
Or are you sloppy with some neat ways?

And on and on and on and on
And on and on he went.

I’ll never ask a zebra

About stripes

Again.

by Shel Silverstein

***

I have been: a high school drop-out, a mental patient, a gen-x’r and an ex-con.

I am now: a certified wound care nurse, a frustrated artist, recovering hipster, a single mother, and a science geek.

What I’m not: a doctor, a counselor, your mama, an expert in anything, a representative for any outside interests (academic, public, or private), or a spokesperson for anyone but myself.

When it comes right down to it, I really don’t know if I’m a white zebra with black stripes, or black zebra with white stripes, but I try every day to do good instead of doing nothing, and if you squint it’s all pretty gray anyway.