UNTITLED

Maheen Qazi

9th Grade • Lane Tech College Prep

When you wake up everyday, you get a chance to think about what you want to do with your day, what you want to put into the world that day, and who you want to be. I ask you to please choose love every single day. Be a lover. Choose love. Give love. Love everyone, always. - Harry Styles

At fourteen, I see the world differently than I did at seven. Then, I did not know what it meant to love, respect and accept people for who they are. During my seventh year on this planet, I went on a trip to the country I am from, Karachi, Pakistan. My family and I went over winter break and I was beyond excited to be back home. While there, my dad took me on a shopping trip. We were outside of a shop when my dad and I came across a disabled person who appeared to be blind in one eye.

Sitting in a wheelchair at the end of the sidewalk, people passed by and gave him either disgusted looks or ignored his existence. Someone mocked the innocent stranger, resulting in the poor man reacting with a hurt expression. I asked my dad if we could help the stranger and he responded with a sweet smile. When my dad and I were close to the stranger, my dad took my hand and placed a thousand rupees in my palm. Then, he told me to walk over and hand him the money. At first, I was nervous because I did not know the person, but my dad assured me

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nothing would happen to me. He stood by, proudly watching me to make sure I would not wander away. I hesitantly walked up to the man.

As I approached the stranger, he turned to face me. His previously pained facial expression now only showed curiosity. Once I was in front of him, he gave me a sincere smile. Seeing the sincerity in his face made me feel more comfortable, I handed him the money. With a hopeful look in his eyes, he thanked me. He showed me his kindness by telling me that I was a thoughtful little girl and that the world needed people like me, now more than ever. I was confused because I did not understand his words. I had just done what I thought was the right thing to do. The poor man looked like he was in need and I had something to offer, so why would I not help him? Instead of replying to his kind statement, I gave him a genuine smile and made my way back to where my dad was standing.

My second trip to Karachi yielded a similar experience, but this time I viewed the situation differently. My grandma and I were seated on our porch when a young woman walked by. She was dressed in ragged clothes that did not fit her properly. As she was walking by, she was begging the civilians for money. The people only shooed her away or made rude remarks about her appearance. I felt uneasy because of the way people were treating her. As she turned to walk away, my grandma stopped her. When she made her way over to us, my grandma asked her about what had happened. She replied saying that she had been kicked out of her previous residence and needed help. My grandma invited her inside. She gave her a set of new clothes to put on and told her she could shower if she wanted to clean up. Once she showered, my grandma gave her food to eat. Later on,

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the lady thanked my grandma for her kindness and left with some money my grandma had given her. She had also mentioned that my grandma was unlike many people she had come across in our society. It was then that I remembered the words of the old man I had met a few years back.

“Our world needs people like you, now more than ever,” the man had said. Those words made me feel sad. It was a moment of realization for me. There are so many people in our communities, cities, countries and world that are in need of help. So many people are struggling to survive and the majority of us are doing nothing to help. People are not saying a single word of kindness or support, not even as much as a thought being given to those in need. A lot of us are fortunate enough to not have to worry about where our next meal is coming from or where we are going to sleep at night. We take our blessings for granted and get too caught up in our own world. We do not think about all the other people in the world who have to worry about the smallest things in life. All of us need to start being a little more aware of the things going on in our world. We should help those in need. It is understandable that we cannot always help others out financially, but there are so many other ways to be an active citizen.

I have learned that most people only care about things when it concerns them or involves them. We should be more selfless than that. If we are doing good, we should want others to do good as well. Our society as a whole needs to start caring. We should not only care about ongoing issues when they involve us. We can help out in so many ways. One way to help someone is by not judging them. When we see a homeless person, we should not judge their appearance. We should treat them with

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just as much kindness and respect as we would treat a welldressed person. We need to understand that they do not have access to things to keep clean. If we are not willing to help them out, we should smile at them. It can make someone feel so much better.

Another way to help would be to volunteer. When I learned about the ongoing issues with homelessness, I joined my then school’s volunteer club called the Boone Cares Club. I knew that I, on my own, would not be able to do much, so I joined Boone Cares. We did a lot of projects to help those in need such as our Socktober Donation Drive. We raised funds to donate to our local charities to help those who are struggling to get by. Also, I have become more aware of my spendings. I make sure I give away anything I may not be using to charity because it can be used by someone else. Those two incidents have taught me so much, from who I am as a person to who others are. I want to live in a world where everyone is just a little bit kinder, caring, and aware. Sometimes we do not care about how our actions affect others, but we need to learn how to respect and love other people. We should take how everyone feels into consideration. Even if we do not think we are hurting someone or that they see us, they just might and it can hurt them greatly.

It’s hard to imagine that people can so easily dismiss the feelings and well-being of others, but it is the sad reality of our world. There are so many negative things happening in our world, but this one is preventable. If we all were more caring of other people, the world would be a better place. We could help out the homeless and make them feel valid. These unfortunate circumstances can be prevented if we all were altruistic. We must accept others and do everything we can to assist and

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support the less fortunate. The phrase treat people with kindness should be applied to everyone. My views of this situation are also supported by the words of Harry Styles: Revolution comes with small acts and now people are realizing that is what sparks real change.

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