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Friday, September 20, 2024

Fifty-five years ago, nine black students entered Central High School in Little Rock, Ark. — not without some controversy and special assistance, however.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower had more than 1,000 members of the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army escort the Little Rock Nine into the school in order to see that they were safe.

I respect these students for having the courage to be the first of their race to attend an all-white institution that was, at the time, charged with extremely closed-minded sentiments.

In the midst of the prejudice, discrimination and hate that seemed to rule the era, an act of kindness in regard to these students’ well-being catapulted numerous other significant events. Doing something unconventional, and at the time socially unacceptable, for the benefit of a few would eventually make all the difference in how this country treats people of all backgrounds.

Today kindness, courtesy and respect are principles that are often overshadowed. In a strange way, many see displaying too much of these attributes as the equivalent of being weak.

The fear of being walked over, taken advantage of, rejected or overlooked drives many away from them. The defense mechanism of always putting up a guard seems to be more socially accepted and expected.

We have encounters with such a vast variety of people over the course of our lives. We will work, study and socialize with people who are different from what we are accustomed to and especially different from what we like. Conflict is inherent. Ideas and personalities clash.

It’s how you choose to handle these moments that decides whether the experiences turn out to be positive learning lessons or harmful mistakes.

It’s important to remember that in the future, people who knew us in the past will more than likely only remember certain things about us. There’s a very high chance it won’t be what organizations we belonged to, what awards and honors we received or even things like how extreme we could be in our opinions.

People most vividly remember the interactions and relationships they have with others. How we treat everyone around us will more than likely determine how we are both seen and remembered.

For some reason, it feels like it’s in our nature to focus primarily and sometimes exclusively on our own wishes. People even willingly hurt others in pursuit of obtaining their own desires.

Proving our point, making sure we get the credit or striving to always take away the largest personal gain are some of the ways we idolize our egos.

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Try avoiding that mindset for a little, and see how things change for you. After being hastily approached with an issue or treated with minimal cordiality, I’m able to understand that everyone doesn’t embody certain principles the same way. Despite this, even after sometimes inconveniencing myself to help someone else, I can’t think of a time when it turned back on me or ruined anything I had going.

Spending an entire lifetime criticizing others or treating them with little regard for no reason makes little sense to me.

I have a feeling the world would function much more effectively if people placed more emphasis on human regard and mutual respect rather than self-gratification and a twisted idea of self-achievement.

Life is full of stresses. It’s what we take from them that gives meaning. This week, you may find yourself sleep deprived and strung out on caffeine. The stress of your job may be eating at your mental health. Your hands may feel permanently attached to brightly colored course review packets.

Remember that it’s OK to smile at someone or do a good deed and seek no reward — it just might make you feel a little better.

What goes around certainly comes around. You never know how the smallest demonstration of courtesy or cordiality might actually turn around to work in your own favor.

Anayo Ordu is an advertising sophomore at UF. Her column appears on Tuesdays.

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