Values

For a long time, humans have searched for a life that lasts forever, but every time it lasts even less…Living forever is far away from our reach now. Life works with money now, not happiness, and not very much with health... The poorer die young and the wealthy die, but already when they are old enough to. Isn't it quite unfair? It might be unfair, but the important question is...Do we ever ask ourselves why this is so?  Why do we allow this to keep working like this?

When I was younger, maybe between ages 6 to 10, I used to give tons of things to charity, even though I still do, it is not the same. Before I was a lot more enthusiastic about it, but now other interests have conquered my mind. Maybe this is the time when young adults start changing their minds and start becoming outsiders of the matter (or maybe not) as soon as they grow up. I was taught really well by my parents, but recently a lot more by my mother, but although she still tries hard for me to focus on my values, she fails constantly. Now you may wonder, so if this girl knows her mum tries hard for her to focus on her values, why doesn’t she try harder? That is exactly my point, from this age forward, we lose values so badly it is really hard to go back, just like smoking; you know it is bad for you but it isn’t really easy to quit. So, going back to my point, I believe that if our society doesn’t have teenagers with values, good habits, and good manners, when they grow up into adults they won’t be really different, and might be worse. We are the future, we have the power of a better generation in our hands.

I happen to be one of those who still remain, and I am proud to say it, with most of them.  I am lazy to tidy up my room, to gather all my old clothes in a bag and take to the church for the holiday seasons, but I still do it.  

I believe I was talking about something else before...my original point, “the poorer die young and the wealthy die old”. Now it is all about money. Money is everywhere we go; our world is spins around it...I would rather say that our planet rotates around a golden coin instead of a star...What is worse is that I feel as if I was completely alone, as if nobody understood how important this matter has become. When it comes to debating in class about the poor people and how we can help my classmates just joke around and distract because, of course, they are not interested, it is none of their business. Some of them would really want to participate but if they do they might be exposed to social suicide (another interesting term which we might talk about later), just for participating.  I would say that they don’t have an idea of what life is about and what is happening in the world they live in. Considering my age I believe I am a fortunate girl because of knowing a bit and being grateful about it. So, my classmates aren’t that grateful for their amazing education at the school I go to, and commit lots of vandalising  That reminds me of one of the teachers telling us that kids at public schools, the ones that aren’t that good, care for what they do have a lot, because they know what it is like to be in lack of lots of material you need for school for example.  This made me so upset and got me thinking so much at that time (though I still do frequently).  What if we switched schools? I bet they wouldn’t make it to a day in there, and the other kids who would be in our school would have loved it. I would love all those people who are so selfish  to live one day as a person who doesn’t have anything at all. Would they manage? Would they survive?  I wonder what that would really be like.

Some of my friends if I ever talk about this just say, you have your own computer, a mobile phone, an iPod, a camera, you have no right to say that, but I earned those things, I bought them with my own money, or they were gifts for my school performance throughout the years. I am still really humble about what I have, and I am really grateful for everything I get, and for every single detail that my parents add to my life.  Just because I have a lot doesn’t mean I don’t know how to care for it, and be thankful for it. I was brought up as a Christian so I really know about that, and still keep everything I learned from that with me though I am not Christian anymore.

Sometimes I wonder why is our world constantly worried about money? Why do they think about it so much? Is it that terrible being an adult? Or is it just that they can’t find their path to the right decisions sometimes?

People sometimes are so involved in money issues that they end up being really mean, self-centered, selfish, ignorant, etc. Money really does change people, although we can’t stop using it I would love to live the moment instead of worrying about how much will living the moment cost.

Am I the only one getting tired?

By: Lucia Miri Echavarria (age 13)

Note: I generalized quite much in this essay, I don't mean that everybody loses their values, I was 13 when I wrote this and I didn't want to change much of it! Hope it is okay! :)