Which Is Which?
What if everyone did what was right
for them,
Instead of following the
crowd?
Or is it better to keep your thoughts
to yourself,
Rather than be thought of as
different?
What if you were liked for being who
you are?
Or is it better to be like everyone
else?
What if there were no
labels,
such as "weird" or
"cool"?
And who decides which is
which?
What if no one stepped out and risked
being different?
Would the Earth still be
flat?
Were Einstein and Harriet Tubman
"normal"?
Or is it the abnormal who do
abnormally great things?
Was Hitler "normal" for extinguishing
the different?
Or was Hitler cruel for wanting
everyone the same?
What if we all became
doctors?
Who would fix the
plumbing?
Is one athletic brand right or
wrong?
Or is it a matter of
preference?
So is it "cool" to be
"normal"?
Or "cool" to be
"weird"?
And who decides which is
which?
by Keshia Hall
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The InSite: Where did your strong sense of right and
wrong come from?
Keshia: I would have to say that it came from my
parents and growing up in church.
TI: Do you have someone who is your role
model?
Keshia: I don't really have any one person as a
role model. It's more of the standard of right and wrong
that I have been brought up with that I try to live up to. I
stand up for what I believe is right.
TI: And other people must see that, so that makes
you a role model!
Keshia: [I guess.] It is a great feeling
to know that you are making a difference in other peoples'
lives as well as your own.
TI: Can you give us an example of what it means to
stand up for what you believe in and what's happened when
you've done that?
I
stick up for someone who people are being cruel
to.
Keshia: I stick up for someone who people are
being cruel to. Or when I have been shopping with a friend
and he or she slipped something into their pocket without
paying for it. I'll usually just tell them to stop it, or
that I won't be around them while they are doing these
things. At first it really annoyed my friends. They called
me 'Little Miss Morality.' But now they are pretty used to
the fact that this is who I am. On a few occasions, I have
had to stop hanging out with some of the people because they
wouldn't stop trying to get me to go against my morals. But
it was no big loss. I have made better friends as a
result.
TI: Friends who share your moral values?
Keshia: Right!
TI: Sounds like the kids who were shoplifting weren't
listening to their Inner Voices. What advice would you give
other teens who have that problem?
Keshia: Sometimes it is hard to hear your Inner
Voice. There isn't always a straight black and white answer,
sometimes there are shades of gray. [I'd say you
should] use your better judgment to figure out what is
right, and then run with that. If you go with what you know
to be right, other people might not appreciate it, but
that's because you are making them feel guilty for what they
are doing. You will gain much more self-respect [if you
do what you know is right.] And even though they might
not like the stand you're taking, others will respect you
much more, too.
TI: But there are times when a kid knows that
the stuff they're being asked to do is wrong, but the peer
pressure is very strong to do it anyway. How have you
avoided peer pressure to go against what you know is
right?
I
simply tell him or her that I won't do it.
And
then I walk away.
Keshia: By just walking away. When I am with
someone who wants to do something that I know isn't right, I
simply tell him or her that I won't do it. And then I walk
away.
TI: How have you been able to affect the lives
of others by being who you are?
Keshia: There was this girl at my church whom
everyone considered a freak because of her make-up and the
way she dressed. No one even gave her a chance. I wanted to
dig deeper because I was sure there was a person [worth
knowing] in there somewhere. It turns out she was a
really great person with a lot of problems. Her parents were
divorced and her mom was making her raise her little sister
on her own. Around the time when we met, her mom was
threatening to kick her out. She was on the verge of suicide
and I was the first sympathetic shoulder she had found. She
is doing a lot better [now.] We're very close
friends. She's a really lovable person . . . with
questionable taste in make-up. (Just kidding!)
TI: What do you want to do with your life?
Keshia: My goal is to reach people in what ever
way I can. If each person reaches someone and they help
someone else, then I am absolutely sure that we can change
the world!
My
goal is to reach people in whatever way I can. If each
person reaches someone and they help someone else,
than I am absolutely sure that we can change the
world!
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