Good and Bad people

Good and Bad People

By: Leah Hammer

Ever since we were in elementary school our parents have told us to “be good” at school and to not get into any trouble. We took their advice and when someone was doing something bad you either told on them or told them it wasn’t nice. As you get older, you begin to “change,” often forgetting your parents’ advice about “being good.” We live in a society in which daily we are exposed to drinking and people using drugs illegally.

Good people do have some similarities to bad people. First off, we’re all people that make mistakes in life. Good people aren’t perfect, which everyone may think they are, but they do not let this define the rest of their lives.

The definition of a good person is “someone who thinks of others before themselves,” and “shows kindness to one another.” Making good choices in life can lead you to the path of becoming a good, moral person. However, good people do not get all the attention that their counterparts get. In today’s world this often discourages those who are trying to do what’s right and not wrong. It’s like the world has forgotten the good and only chooses to see, publicize, and promote the “Bad.” If ones truly desires to be a “good” person, then he or she is doing something because it is the right choice not the popular one.

We are capable of both good and evil, especially in today’s society where everywhere you look evil things are being presented to us as the “new normal.” No longer are things that were once considered evil/bad in our parents’ and grandparents’ day seen as something one should avoid, but rather are presented to teens as something that is normal, even expected of you, and will complete your life. We were not born as either a bad or good person, but the choices we make in life provide us with either a bad or good name.

When I was a freshman, I saw this boy who was getting bullied by this other boy. I knew this boy that was getting bullied didn’t have much at all. I felt sorry for him, but I knew that everyone picked on him and made fun of him. Going through my mind I didn’t know whether to laugh or to stand up for this boy, because knowing that if I stood up for him, everyone would make fun of me.

At that point the other boy threatened to throw the boy in the trash can, I couldn’t take any more so I got up and told the boy to just throw me in the trash can instead of him. I knew I did what was right because I didn’t get thrown in the trash can but knowing that I stood up for a person made me feel good about myself and I knew that God wanted me to be the “good” person.

Fitting in “with the crowd” is usually what bad people tend to do.  In high school you are faced with alcohol, drugs, parties, and a lot of peer pressure from your friends.  Your friends change and they will get you to do things that you don’t want to do. Being the person that says “No” makes you the better person.

A bad person is “one that wants to rebel against something or someone thinking only of himself and not caring about the consequences of his actions on those around him.” All one has to do is turn on the television or listen to the radio to hear how actions of those who are selfish, uncaring, and rebellious are affecting the lives of those around us and the entire world.

Many people don’t consider there selves’ bad people because their habits become natural to them. My uncle use to be a really wild person. He had started doing drugs, which made him act very different. He would sleep for hours a day and he wouldn’t care what anyone thought. As a family it broke our hearts to see the bad things he was doing.  He loved his family and friends, but drugs had overtaken his life. He wasn’t a bad person but he set himself out to get that name. He had lost his job, his truck, and his house had caught fire. What a horrible time for our family.

Five years later, he has been to AA meetings and got himself off drugs; he has been baptized and is now going to church regularly. He has got a job, a truck, and has his life back on track. I believe that bad people can become good people if they just set their minds to it. He regrets what he had done in the past, but moving forward  in life has made him a very good person.

Some people don’t know what they want to be in life either a “good” or “bad” person. When you watch television most of the “hot topics” are about evil things, and very little is it about people in the world doing good things for others. Bad people crave attention and I think since everyone publicizes it, it makes people’s desire for recognition stronger than wanting to do well.

You choose the road you want to take; either it’s the “bad road” or the “good road.” We are all born to live a life where we will be faced with good, bad, and evil things. You weren’t born to be a “bad” person, but you make that decision as you get older, especially when your friends are pressuring you into doing something. You become one person at the end of your life, and you have one title to your name and that’s either you’re a good person or a bad. Choose good over bad, because the rewards to yourself, your family, and your friends will far outweigh any so called life for the moment event.