Revolution

Wait!! This isn't what it seems!! This post isn't going to be a history lesson on the war between the English and the Americans. This isn't going to be a post about my feelings to mutiny against the government or to lead a religious front against the people or to try and convince you to rebel. This is a post about a revolution in our everyday lives. A post about revolution in our towns, in our schools, in our neighborhoods, and in our hearts. Please, just give it a minute and see what I am talking about.

So one day, I was walking to my sixth period pre-calculus class, when all of the sudden my precalc and chemistry textbooks slipped out of my hands and onto the floor. When I bent over to pick them up, my binder fell and papers flew everywhere. A girl whom I didn't even know stopped to help me pick up my things while everyone else around me was pointing and laughing.

This is the kind of revolution I am talking about.

Many times, I have seen similar situations, but unfortunately, I am usually the one that just walks right by, feeling as if their problems were nothing that I should worry about. Is it so hard for us to lend a helping hand once in a while?

Or what about the new girl, who sits all by herself at lunch while you and your friends gossip about her past and her choice of clothing? Why do we find it so difficult to invite her to hang out with us? Why is it hard to be friendly?

What about the dorky kid who sits next to you in, oh, engineering, reading nonfiction war novels and talking about battle reenactments all the time? Would it kill you to get to know him, help him with his CAD assignment and listen to his stories about island hopping in World War II?

You may be reading this and thinking, "Oh, I am nice to everyone!"

Thats B.S. I know that for a fact.

Some people consider me the nice girl, yet I sit at a lunch table and talk about people for forty five minutes. And I'm not saying, "oh, so-and-so's project was phenomenal" or "I love what she is wearing today!". Its stuff like "Oh my gosh did you hear that stupid question that so-and-so asked today? How are thay even in AP classes?!" And normally, I'm not even the one talking. I sit there and go along with it, telling myself that its okay to gossip as long as I'm not the one spreading it. In reality, the fact that I'm not putting an end to it makes me even worse.

Its the worst when people are just ignorant. When you forget that others have feelings, too, and you just go on with your life without a single care about those around you. Thats what this revolution is about.

Its about finding the strength to be kind, in a world where kindness is out of style. Its about reaching out towards others even though people may talk about you behind your back, even though it may jeopardize your social status. Its about breaking away from the people who influence you to hold back and judge you for making the right decision.

You may think that you can't make a difference, but a revolution like this could transform your friends and the lives of the people you reach out to.

It can transform your life, as I hope it transforms mine.

-Caroline