Sunday, August 24, 2008

Courtesy

Why is it that in like 1950 if you were to see a complete stranger and
say hello and ask them how there day was, it would be completely
acceptable. But if i were to see someone in the elevator or walking
through the hallway of my own dorm hall and say hello, i get looked at
like i am a crazy pedophile? what has this country come too when
someone cannot even be courteous to one another without being
frightened for our lives. it just completely bamboozles me that being
friendly is basically looked down upon. has anyone else ever been
mistreated due to the fact that our world has gone completely nuts?

i heard this story once and whether it be true or not it touched me and
changed me for the rest of my life:

One day this man who had been down on his luck and just couldnt catch a
break and his life was basically going downhill. he couldnt stand it
anymore. he decided to take his life by jumping off a bridge in his
city. in the note he left he had said i will turn around and come home
and put up with everything and live my life if just one person would
smile at me and say hello. well i guess no one had stopped to smile or
say hello or no one would have ever found that note.

people have a set routine for their lives and just keep repeating their
same cycle over and over again and then they die. never going outside
there comfort zones and experiencing this beautiful miracle we have
right in front of us. and believe it or not it is the only thing we can
ever truly control.

-Gina

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I comepletely agree that things have changed over the years. I still don't let that discourage me though. I'm always being courteous and talking to others that I don't know. I mean how do you expect to meet new people if you don't talk to a stranger every now and then?
Sometimes you can meet the best people whenever you are just being friendly and saying hey to someone you don't know.

lolinarobin42 said...

I couldn't agree more! In my experiences I have found that examples of people rejecting courteousness varies from place to place. Being from outside of baltimore, I know not to be cheery to people on the street if I am in the city becuase people from those areas have harder lives and view kindness as weakness. On the other hand if I am walking in a place I have never been before I have had pleasant experiences greeting people on the street and they almost seem to be shocked that someone was being nice to them. I think with each situation you have a different experience.

Anonymous said...

I have definitely noticed this in today's society. One thing that I have noticed is that this particular incidents happens in big cities more often than compared to smaller towns. Coming from a very large city, I have noticed that the pace is slowed down dramatically but also the friendliness in a small town is more abundent than in the city.