When I was in the 7th grade, I was made fun of for the way I looked. I started to feel insecure about my appearance. I fell into a deep hole and turned a blind eye towards everything that mattered to me and to those who actually cared for me. I decided unintentionally to let society shape me and label me instead of letting the experience create a basis for personal growth. But over summer break that year, I met some amazing role models at a life changing camp who showed me that it’s the small things in life that matter. Through this experience, I learned that I deserve to be happy, no matter what people told me. And that’s when a realization struck me. We live in a world where individuals let society define them. I decided that I would not let others establish who I am. I found my own sources of happiness which I soon recognized were there around me and inside of me the whole time. I surrounded myself with only those that had been there for me and brought positivity into my life. I became a generally nicer person and started to treat people with the respect I received from others and willed to have in my life at all times. I started to only care about situations and people that would bring me joy and would matter to me in the future, and dismissed those that send me negative vibes and attempted to bring me down, with a mere smile and hearty laugh.
Everywhere I look nowadays, I see the same thing. At school, students walk down the halls, laughing and staring, making rude comments about “fat girl.” In public, awkward pauses and glances are shot towards the child with Down syndrome. In any social circle I see, there is always the exclusion of the “ugly and poor girl.” Isn’t this what normal life has become? Why do we just sit back and watch this happen? It isn’t until we experience this for ourselves that we realize how much of an impact it can make on someone’s life. I have been lucky enough to turn my experience into a good life lesson and learn from my past insecurities. But others may not be as lucky. Why do we even have to test the results of our actions? Why can’t we learn to spread the love and respect that we would like to have in our lives? We can. It takes one act of kindness, even a small smile, to turn someone’s day around. It takes one, “hello, how are you?” for someone to drop the blade and pick up a pencil. I believe that no matter how traumatic or sorrowful someone’s life has been, they deserve to be happy. I believe that with the kindness inside of each of us, we can give someone that reason to be happy and feel accepted.