~Cooper Walton, Class of 2023
“Growing apart doesn’t change the fact that for a long time we grew side by side; our roots will always be tangled. I’m glad for that.”
~Ally Condie
It’s always the English class that really gets the gears of my head turning. Struggling to write this assignment got me going through the times when I was kind, and how it affected someone else. It was a challenge, thinking of a specific story to tell about my experiences. Especially since I had to dive into the inner relapses of my mind back to when I was a student at Claypit hill Elementary school. From the moment I walked through the door at 8:45, till the moment I left at 3:00 on the dot, those years were filled with memories of Respect—respect for my teachers, respect for my classmates, and respect for my friends—filled with a sense of caring,
People remember when you’re kind to them. From a very young age my parents’ only rule was that I try my best to be kind to the people that deserve it. Things were so much simpler in elementary school, and there were those moments when I had to choose kindness; and step in to help somebody I may not have known very well. Or I had to choose to go with my friends and turn a blind eye. I’m proud to say I chose kindness. It was one autumn day with my long time friend Jack on the playground. My friend’s group was planning to use one of the tire swings and see if we could hit the kids head on the bar holding the swing; which is when I saw him. A tire swing can only fit one person and needs about three people to push so instead, I went to talk to Ryan. The approach was slow, and I had to interrupt him pretending to throw out Pokémon. Knowing very little about the game at the time I went up to him and all I did was tap him on the shoulder. He introduced me to the basics of the game, and just from the one recess period, my arm was already sore from all the “poke balls” I’d thrown. From there we made it a date, and as the weeks kept going by I found myself leaving my friends group and going over to him. Same time, twice a week by the sandbox. From this experience alone I learned that that kindness and friendship really goes a long way to make someone’s day better. Maybe even your own day. This is exactly what I was always told to do as a kid and it always felt nice to turn words into actions. Being kind to some really shows you care and when you care about others; you gain their respect and kindness in turn.
Respect is the road to friendship. I always had my best friend in elementary school, but he had another friend that wasn’t me. Nowadays I would’ve taken it upon myself to crush the other friend and get them completely out of my friends life. But in third grade I decided to become friends with that boy, and earn his respect. It was a rainy day inside Ms. Murphy’s third grade classroom, and when recess rolled around naturally everyone stayed inside. I was with my best friend Jack and his two friends who I wasn’t entirely friends with. But over the course of one Uno game that would soon change. We were doing partners and me and Jack partnered up almost instantly and created our team. At the time I was still planning how to make a friendship with the other kid who Jack was close with but with some strategy and a touch of toxic masculinity, we would be one big happy friend group in no time. The game began, both teams battling it out like lions at play, we were winning, then they were winning, and it unfortunately stayed that way for a while. We got so close to uno so many times but it seemed like they always had a plus 4 up their sleeve. A sharp dagger cutting our near win to pieces. It was bad, the game was tied with both sides having two cards, but they were the architects of their own downfall. Me and Jack had two unbeatable wild cards and in less than a minute the game. “Respect,” he said. If respect was the road to friendship then I think I’ve made some new friends. Making friends seems so much simpler when you’re younger. Respecting others and being kind is a real recipe for living a life full of connection. By going out of your way to be kind you can make their life and experience better, and getting that same respect back makes you realize how your actions affect others.
As author R.G. Risch once said, “Respect is a two-way street, if you want to get it, you’ve got to give it.” Respect means making friends. Caring means keeping them.
