Personal Grudges

Its been ages since I felt someone held a grudge against me. I have met my share of nasty people, insecure people who felt threatened by me, people who got mad at me for screwing something up, and people I failed to build a rapport with for no conceivable reason. But I have not met many people who went out of their way to be mean to me for no fathomable reason. The last person I can think of this professor in engineering college who thought I smiled too much. When I was younger, I had trouble controlling my smile and would sometimes crack one during inappropriate moments. It wasn't a wide ear-to-ear grin and if I was a better student maybe the professor would have ignored it. I was never any trouble in class and my mediocre grades hurt no one but me. But the professor made a really nasty personal comment in front of the whole class, and I couldn't help but think he had taken an instinctive dislike to me. The only other person who I thought held a grudge against me was this teacher in school who would also make nasty personal comments in class. Teachers in India, at least during my time, got away with some pretty atrocious behavior. Shaming a student in public seemed to be their favourite hobby, and, naturally, sensitive souls like took it worse than others. Now, after so many years I feel someone in my university holds a grudge against me. Maybe they have a reason to be upset with me, but I can't think of one. The haven't been outright nasty to me, just inconsiderate. But, I can sense that they hold at least a mild grudge. Grudge vibes don't need words or actions to travel. You can feel them. So, what does one do in such a situation? If the person has power over you and you can't really fight back, try not to make the situation worse. But, at the end of the day, if someone dislikes you instinctively, you can't do much, although they can make you suffer. This one of the situations where the maxim you read a few weeks ago applies "It might be my problem, but it is not my fault.