What is really important? Appreciation and Respect for Others.

I think it is important for people to learn how to be respectful. As a product of Generation Y I have found for some people to be less and less respectful of others every single day. I think its time for a reminder of what it means to have respect for others. The reason I believe people should have this common courtesy of respect is because usually older people are grateful when you do something so common such as holding the door for another human being. A few days ago I saw a girl walking out of a building holding a big board and there was no way she could have opened the door on her own. I waited for her to make it through the door and just as she was walking through a man walks right through the door I was holding for the girl with the board. He walks through without a word and she almost drops the board. I expected at minimum for an apology to the girl because he almost caused her to drop the board. She walked on through the door with great appreciation saying “thank you” multiple times. If it were anyone else I wouldn’t have changed my action because it is a friendly deed. I want to know why people find it so hard to say “thank you” or say “please”. It is appreciation, respect that has become less and less important. I grew up in a mixed up Mexican and Palestinian household. My mother and father are both Mexican and their parents are Mexican but I lived with my mother and stepfather the majority of my life. My stepfather grew up in a Palestinian household with Palestinian parents that pray to Allah five times a day. It was hard to adjust to but I finally found some common ground between these cultures. It was appreciation and respect. I learned to appreciate having a life, having food clothes and most of all family because not everyone gets to have these things. I learned that respect was not just given it was earned but only if you respect others. By respecting others and saying “please”, “thank you”, “your welcome” and even “bless you” people will look at you and know that there is something about you that deserves respect and appreciation when doing common daily deeds such as holding a door open for someone else, giving up you seat on a crowded public bus, small deeds like this add up and may change someone else’s perspective of not only Generation Y but humanity.