im nice that doesnt mean in dumb

Ok i am in a very bad mood i dont understand why people don't understand that if i am nice to people, if i don't like to pass witty remarks at other people's expense or if i go up to people and be the first one to wish them doesn't mean that i am weak, doesn't mean i don't have a spine and it certainly does not mean that i am dumb or that i like to suck up to people.
What it does mean though that i try to make a conscious effort to be nice even if it really tries my patience to the extreme.My Grandmother is supposed to be blamed for this one, for drilling it into my head when i was younger that be nice...it won't kill you!Wish i can go back that tell her " yes nani, believe me one of these days it will".Well for the simple reason that people usually are so caught up in their own world, that to take time out from there and actually be considerate will really be asking for too much.Then there is also the oh so mighty ego to contend with, so as you can see with all this going on being nice is tough,being mean is probably easier.
So what should i do, go on a major ego trip of my own and just drop all the words like "thank you","sorry","hello","can i help you", from my vocabulary. Well the answer to this one is little confusing but here again what my nani told me comes to me "being nice is imporatant in this world...only peole with character will be able to hold on to this trait,i hope you are one of them".
You know the saying old people are wise, i agree my nani is truly one of them.

I really wonder sometimes why is that some things that seem so insignificant in life at one point seem so much more important as we grow older..dont know maybe it happens a little too often with me.A close friend in school who fought with me on such a trival issue as why i did not keep in touch regulary decided not to speak to me..maybe i should have broken the ice just that i was on a ego trip and in no mood to relent or maybe the time when i was so rude to a elder just because he wouldnt let things happen my way or probabaly when my little cousin wanted to play with me and i was too busy reading Mills & Boons(majorly embarassed to admit this one) and a whole lot more other things which are so close to heart that it cannot be written only remembered.
They are really stupid things when you come to think of it but whenever i go back in time it sorts of pinch me.."what if i had done that instead of", golden words i must say but pretty much useless now though i am going to try to rectify things , i am going to start by calling my friend up after ages..little scared..dont know how she is going to react but hope that she understands and that i am somehow able to lessen the years wasted and the pain along with that.Wish me luck and remember to think twice,thrice or even five,six times for that matter before doing something or saying something,believe me you wouldnt want to regret it later..trust me on this one!