This I Believe essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

This I Believe - Essay Example He should also learn how to respect other people instead of fight them, and to temper his desires and focus on his education instead of having a girlfriend at a young age. I was always the butt of jokes every time my friends would know that I did not have a girlfriend yet or that I have not tried any beer yet. I wonder why they would not mind how many books I have read at this point in my life. I really wonder why they would consider having dated a girl more important than anything else instead. What is also more annoying is that no matter how many times I explained to these people how important studying is more than having a girlfriend or drinking beer, they simply did not agree nor did they listen. What is even worse is that they would sometimes either label me as a nerd or a sissy or gay. I have nothing against nerds, sissies and gays but it is not good to call someone this if it is not true anyway. I believe that older people in the community should also try to help foster the value of good education and should at least help minimize the ridicule that young people like me get from those who constantly criticize every effort of mine to be an excellent student at school. It even seems to me that the society I was in would praise me more and make me more welcome if I were a dropout and if I got myself tattoos of snakes and women all over my arms and the rest of my body. The problem with this society is that the older people tolerate such beliefs because they are the same and they believe in the same thing about being a man. I remember arguing with my father on the subject of having to conform to society, and my father insisted on following what people say in order to avoid being ridiculed. Although I got my father’s point and although I knew that he was just protecting my interests and that he just did not want me to get into trouble, I believe there is always a point at which an individual has to stop conforming to what