In elementary school, it was engraved in our brains that we should treat others the way that we would want to be treated. As I was such a stickler for following the rules, it was only natural that I followed this one as well.
All throughout elementary school, that was my number one rule. I followed it to the best of my ability. I shared with all my friends; I showed compassion when it was necessary. However, when I reached middle school; it suddenly wasn’t about sharing with your friends or being the line leader; it was about being the most popular or wearing the nicest clothes.
When I entered middle school, I told myself that it wasn’t going to be about popularity, but I too fell into the trap. I think what pushed me towards this was the desire to be popular was that I was bullied myself. I remember that people used to throw lollipops and gum in my hair. Honestly, I thought it was because they liked me. I thought that if I could just prove myself, I would be in the popular group. I would be in the in crowd.
My task was to, in not so nice words, bully this other girl. The goal was to make her feel inferior and to make myself feel better. Only then would I finally be a part of the popular crowd. And I did. We both exchanged hurtful words, that I still regret saying to this day.
Then my parents found out and my life came crashing down. It was the first time in my life that I was going to get in serious trouble.. I realized then that I needed to be a better person. I realized that I lost the fulfillment of treating others how I wanted to be treated. Instead, I coped to the pressures of being popular. I thought that bullying someone would fulfill me and instead, it humiliated me. I felt like the worst person in the world.
Since then, I’ve always made it a goal to treat others how I would want to be treated. I try not to succumb to the pressures to be popular or well liked. I simply just treat others how I would want to be treated; this I believe.
Good story.