Respect. We would all love for people to treat us the same way that we treat them. Some people do not realize that what they say or what they do can really hurt someone, or possibly have a negative impact on them for the rest of their lives. I always say be cautious, and always stay wise to the actions you take, especially when it comes to someones feelings. You never know what someone could be going through in their life, so sometimes it is always better to be kinder to one another. A great example of treating people with respect is bullying.
Bullying happens all the time at all times of the day. People bully people in school, on the internet, and even at home. Sometimes the bully has the motive to hurt people and break someone else down because they are hurting on the inside themselves. The way they express themselves is the wrong way to do it, but it happens. I remember in school, they always said that a bully becomes a bully when they, themselves had been bullied. It is a serious matter these days because people hurt themselves for being bullied. That goes back to my point where I said that it could impact someone life.
People do not know how someone will take to being bullied, or even how they would react. Some people that have been bullied tend to try to get “revenge”. We have all heard of school shootings due to bullying and even kids bringing weapons to school for protection. Bullying is a scary and serious situation. My family was military, so I always moved around all the time. That meant that I had to make new friends over and over again. I must say, being the “new girl” was not always the best thing. Yes, I got a lot of attention (we all love that every once in awhile) but at the same time, nobody knew me.
They did not know what to think of me, some people did not even have interest in getting to know me. People treated me so badly, called me crazy names, some even pushed me. I mean they shoved me so hard one day, I flew down a slide and they put a broken glass bottle on the slide, and it ended up cutting my stomach. I knew in that moment, it was no longer the kids being mean to me, it now was the kids bullying me. Me being bullied in my life, it was a very hurtful experience. I would eat lunch in the bathroom and I would sit there and cry and ask myself “why me? ”.
I never could understand why people could not treat me with respect, just as I did them. It seemed to me that I was not “good enough”, and I felt like if I was “good enough” then people would not bully me or even try to mess with me. The emotions that I would feel on a daily basis. Whew! I literally felt like someone was stabbing me in my heart. I had those heavy tears, the tears where you cry so much you begin to choke or cough and could not speak. It was not a very pleasant experience, but it was actually a really great learning experience. How can bullying be a great learning experience? You become stronger!
I learned that people will not always treat you the way that you should be treated so kill them with kindness. I became wiser with who I hung around. I changed who I was with and I became more focused on my books and not trying to hang with all the popular people, because that always seemed to get me in trouble. The most important thing I learned was how to be respectful to people but also remain honest. If someone was doing something to me that I did not like, I learned that it is okay to speak up and tell how you feel. Never be scared of telling how you feel because some do not notice what they are doing until you tell them.
I also learned that people will not always have the best interest for you at heart. If people do not treat you with respect, then they do not deserve your best. They also should not expect to be treated with respect if they are acting disrespectful upon you. We all wish that people would respect one another and be kinder to one another but, it does not always happen that way. That is okay though, people can make a difference. People could do little acts of kindness by looking behind them before they walk all the way through the door to make sure it does not hit someone.
If you see somebody on a bus that is older, be polite and give them your seat. Also, people could start using their manners, especially while talking to their elders. It is the little things that count because it could make someones day. All we have to do is try! In conclusion, kindness can be a weakness. People take your kindness for granted. Some do not consider others feelings before they act upon anything they do. Other people are just disrespectful. We have to learn how to deal with it and never follow in the footsteps of disrespect.
Kindness is important, always go that extra mile for someone just as much as you would want them to. You both might need each other one day and you will need that extra support or lift. You are always supposed to treat somebody the way you want to be treated. So remember, if you want respect you have to give respect. It is not an easy thing to come by these days but it is always worth a try to see if people will treat you how you are supposed to be treated, because it is one of the easiest things for people to talk about but the hardest thing for people to do.
