A person is not defined by who they are, but by what they do. Everyone has a low point at least once within their lifetime and I’ve learned from past experiences that a single word can make a difference. I never thought about the things that I said as much as I should have when I was younger.

I realized three years ago how I was treating others and acting. It wasn’t until I was given a rude awakening, that I snapped out of it. Now as a 16-year old, I realize how ridiculous I was at the time, but it’s different when you’re 13 years old. Back then, I didn’t like conversing with anyone and I tried my best to stick to the shadows as much as I could.

It had not dawned on me that, when I did talk to others, I didn’t come off as nice and excited. I came off as unhappy, quiet, and rude and would rather be anywhere else than in the moment. It finally changed when my mom sat me down and talked to me about how I was treating others. Being a teenager, I didn’t believe her and ignored her at first, until I started to think about all the people that didn’t want to work with me or didn’t like me. That’s when I started to open up to the idea of change.

It’s hard to change 13 years of the same personality when you’re so used to the same old routine of staying away from others, but it had to be done. Trying to change inside and outside of school made it even more of a challenge, because my peers thought one way of me and only that way.

One of the major things that helped me during this time was my grandmother. She would always tell me, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” My grandmother showed me that everyone could change and my rough patch was just a little bump in the long life I am bound to have. I am amazed now at how much I have changed as a person. I now know things that I would have never known before. I’m a different person and am proud of all of the things that I’ve accomplished.