By Aaliyah

I often times read different stories where people are upset and wanting change. Many people are tired and fed up with society. I even remember my own mother crying over my awful behavior, I see this scene reenacted in many schools. I had a friend whose mother was a teacher at one of the middle schools here in town, she actually left the school due to the awful treatment she received from students. Many people are backed up against a wall when they look out at society today and what it has become.

But my question today is, "What are you doing about it?".

What got me to thinking about this was a conversation I was having with a friend of mine. We were talking about the news and how sad it was to watch most of the stories. So she asked me, "What are you doing to make it better?", she said it doesn't help to sit around and concentrate on the negative. I agreed with her totally. I can think of many times when I could have been calling schools, daycares, and other facilities to get the message out about Character Educations and its importance.

I also looked at myself and wondered, "Did I dress in a respectable fashion, today?", "Did I use appropriate language?", "Was I kind and respectful to everyone?".

I remember a quote by Mahatma Gandhi that said: "Be the change you want to see in the world." and I also thought of a quote in The Peaceful Solution that says "The change begins with you.".

I came in contact with many people today, I didn't speak to them or touch them but, they saw me. They saw the way I was dressed, how I carried myself, they heard the words I spoke. I hope I represented a respectful, humble person along with other positive character traits. I don't care if they saw my facial features, I just hope left a positive impression upon them.

Have you heard the saying; "A picture is worth a thousand words?", well how valuable is our appearance or our presence?

What did you say to those around you today? We are all walking examples and we have to represent the change we want to see in the world. Do we add to the problem or are we a part of the solution?

I have a neighbor who has a small child about 2 or 3 yrs of age. The child was going in and out of the house slamming the door while her mother was trying to have a conversation on the telephone. The mother, who was getting frustrated, yelled all kinds of belittling insults at the child to make the child go in the house and stop slamming the door. I thought of that as a oxymoron of sorts, how can you yell filthy language at someone to make them do the right thing? You can't. So how can we be disrespectful, arrogant, and rude and expect society to change for the better?