Throughout my life, I've always been impacted by the personalities of other people. Certain actions and traits of my peers have enlightened me to the good and bad qualities of our world today. Throughout my years in high school,my fellow students have always impacted my work ethic and outlook on life through the way that they carry themselves and how they handle their responsibilities. To present a specific example, there is a student whom I've shared several classes with over the years that embodies certain negative characteristics. For purposes of anonymity we shall call her "Martha." Now in all actuality, Martha is a very sweet girl, but she has several mannerisms that have shown me how not to act. For instance, she is very disrespectful to her educators and her fellow peers. This disrespect is shown through the shallow and pedantic tone she uses when interrupting every conversation. In addition to her inquiries, the questions she interjects with are usually redundant or all together useless, wasting time in class and annoying students around her. She questions the details of the details, even going so far as to ask the
proper color of her personal notes. Because of the extensive nature of her concerns, she has become the but of many jokes, some even from teachers themselves, and the subject of school yard gossip. Her actions have have led me to the conclusion the some qualities are not desirable in a person, her dependence alone on others to make decisions for her makes me believe that she does not think for herself and does not live a full life. As a result of my observations, I have weeded out these qualities in my own personality, to ensure that I do not repeat her mistakes. As John Powell once said, "The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing," and I have personally found that learning from the mistakes of others is just as valid as learning from you own personal mistakes. My goal in life is to be the respectful, independent, and positive example that people wish to follow and not to be the "Martha" for future generations to come.