My Reflection On Someone Else's Reflection

I found this quote on Aakash's Blog that I thought was really great

In my opinion  people who hurt their peers are the worst type of  people there are, I wouldn't even consider them a person, because the most important thing in the world is FRIENDSHIP! Along with friendship there comes trust. It's important to trust others and let others have faith in you, because someone who cannot trust their peers will never be successful in life. Such as a buisness partner, or if you're performing a surgery. That is what I think about friendship!

After I read Aakash's reflection, the word friendship ran through my mind. In his reflection Aakash announces that the most important thing in the world is friendship: that we should have faith and trust in other people. I think Aakash's quote can relate to 4 of the ASTI Constitution. First of all Aakash talks about how important it is to trust others so they can have faith in you. This can relate to #5 of the ASTI constitution by trusting that the person meant no disrespect. Secondly by assuming positive intent Aakash's quote can relate to #4 of the ASTI constitution which is about mutual trust and respect. To build mutual trust, trusting in each other is needed. Third of all Aakash's quote relates to the idea of #7: strive to understand where others are coming from. With the idea of respect and trust, friendship is evolved into where others can understand each other. Lastly, Aakash's quote can relate to #9, which is the thought of making a positive impact in the people around you, because after everyone trust and has respect for each other a positive impact has already been made in the people.
I think that Aakash's reflection is very true, and i agree with Aakash when he says that everyone should be friendship: the most important thing in the world is friendship.

"Just Kidding" and "Ganging Up" Response

The excerpt “Just Kidding” and “Ganging up” was story I read in the ASTI packet. This story by Rachel Simmons is about the feelings of girls and guys when someone makes fun of them. Simmons mentions that when a girl is made fun of with even a joke, they lose self esteem and it can even apply to guys too. I recall a time in my elementary school years when I had just started wearing glasses and I was made fun of because of them. They said they were joking around but it still really hurt. I didn’t like wearing glasses and with the opportunity of making fun of me because of them really lowered my self esteem and I was down for a couple of days. When I finally talked to my friends, they told me to forget about it and helped me stand back up. (They also helped me get them back) From the story I learned that people bully or make fun of others because they were probably made fun of before and wanted to take it out on someone else. In Simmons story, a girl called Lauren said, “you don’t do it on purpose, it’s your natural instinct,” and by natural instinct Lauren is talking about authority and power. With the instinct of gaining authority and power that could be another reason why people bully others. Another idea Simmons pointed out was “it makes me feel powerful.” Isn’t it our natural instinct to take control? Even if “ganging up” isn’t a good thing to do I think that his is a trait that we humans need to survive. In the future my goal is to never have to take my anger out on someone or bully anyone even if it is just a joke.