Enduring the Unbearable: My Experience with Noise Pollution

Pollution is something we encounter every day, and each of us faces one kind of pollution which affects our daily lives and thereby tampering with our health and mental well-being. One of such I'm facing where I stay is the noise pollution, totally exasperating that many times, I feel like throwing up when I have had to endure it till the last breath in me, and the next thing is being frustrated, feeling like having a superpower to deal with those responsible for it.

Noise pollution can be one of the most frustrating disturbances, especially when it comes from right outside your window. Some noises are temporary, but others become a constant part of daily life, making it difficult to focus, rest, or even find peace in your own space. This keeps me awake, and most times, I don't enjoy full concentration on what I'm doing at that moment.

There's a woman who has her local grinder just exactly by my window, and the noise alone is unbearable for me. The sound affects me directly, and the most aggravating part is when she wakes me up with it as early as 5:30 a.m. every day, which has become a normal routine.

Although I understand that she is a teacher and has to start her day early to make it to work, some customers, because of that, tend to bring their peppers and whatever else they need to grind at that ungodly hour, thereby waking me up when I ought to be sleeping soundly. Besides, that's her side hustle, and would I say she shouldn't make her sales? But I feel disturbed by it every time.

When I have to observe my morning devotion in the morning, I would have to wait for her to finish grinding while I start praying because the noise would disturb my focus and attention. Other times, when I'm on a call and I just notice the sound of the machine is about to be turned on, I hurriedly drop the call to return back once the noise is off. To be candid, it's always disturbing and frustrating for me with such loud noise from the machine.

There was a time I returned from a vigil at almost 3 a.m., completely exhausted. All I needed was to sleep in for a while during the weekend. I had already planned to wake up around 8 or 9 a.m. and had even set my alarm for it.

But before I could enjoy my much-needed rest, just two hours later, the loud grinding machine shattered the morning silence, dragging me out of sleep. I lay in bed, hissing incessantly in frustration. When she finally finished grinding, I tried to go back to sleep, but it was impossible. The disturbance had already affected me so much that I developed a headache.

There was no one to complain to, and neither did I want any trouble. All I could do was endure the noise whenever she put the machine on. The sound is always boisterous that it even disturbs some houses besides ours, but since no one seemed willing to speak up, who was I to complain, especially when I was just there for my service? I had to take in this displeasure for over a year, and now that my countdown to leaving this city is below 50%, I know I'll just have to keep enduring it.

I don't like noise anywhere around me, but sometimes, I choose to endure, knowing I have no control over it.

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_{Both images were generated from Meta AI}