This I Believe

Monkey See, Monkey Do

            Many people in our society like to do a lot of things, but not because they want to.  They do it  because someone else is already doing it. When I was younger, my mom always told me to be my own person. She didn’t want me to do what others did just because I saw them doing it. I feel that, this is how many people go through with doing certain things.

            I remember a time when I was about twelve years old. I was at my aunt’s house with my two cousins. One was a year older than me, and the other was just three. After we woke up I noticed that my little cousin’s hair was messy from sleeping. I decided to do it, but my older cousin insisted that we wash it. I knew it was a bad idea and told her we shouldn’t do it.

            Knowing that I should not do what others do, I decided to go along and help wash her hair. When we washed it, we ruined it. Some of her hair had come out and it was tangled. When our parents got home, my mom decided to do her hair. My cousin and I did get in trouble, but we never told the three year olds parents.

            I would have thought that my little cousin would have told on us, but she didn’t. My aunt of all people told. The bad thing is that she told them that I washed her hair. She didn’t mention her daughter or anything. I felt that it was wrong of her to tell anyways because she is a grown woman, and it wasn’t her hair. She didn’t even know what really happened in the first place. Her telling my little cousins parents resulted in a lot of controversy. My mom and her siblings were not talking afterwards for a while.

            When my aunt told on me, I told everyone that my older cousin made me do it.  I knew I messed up there. She didn't make me do it, but it was her idea. I should have been my own person, and told my cousin “You can wash her hair if you want, but I’m not.” I feel that this is an example of my belief because I did an action just because my cousin was going to do even though I knew it was wrong.

            There are many examples of my belief in our society. Many teens are getting peer pressured to do drugs. They should know that if they feel in their gut that they shouldn’t do it, then it’s wrong. Also some teachers think that certain students are influenced to act a certain way. That is not right because if a child has bad behavior, it’s because they act that way. I feel that it is time for people to take some responsibility for your own actions and own up to your mistakes.