Importance of Respect Essay

Respect, respect, respect, that’s what my father always said to me. Growing up in a typical Chinese family, I have learnt the importance of Respect, whether it is towards your grandparents, friends or your teachers. Although most of them are just simple things, it really shows your respect towards others. To show your respect towards others, there are often things you must not do. For example, if you respect your parents or your grandparents, you wouldn’t just pat their heads, dropping their wig onto the ground when you start asking them things such as â€Å"Hey grandma, how are you today?† or â€Å"what are we eating today?† The only people you are allowed to pat (if you must) are the ones who are younger than you, but that doesn’t mean you can go up to a random stranger who’s younger than you and start patting them on their head, no no no, that’s not what I mean at all. Towards your elders, respect can be shown when you grab food for them when the food is too far for them to reach or by standing up and allowing them to sit on your seat when there are no more chairs left. Such small acts of kindness can actually show your respect towards others and the kind of person you actually are. For some of us, when we graduate from university, we may start to feel like we are superior beings, and that everyone who are still in college are lesser beings, or the lower-class people. This may cause us to look down on our parents or grandparents just because they didn’t go to university, neglecting the fact that without them, there wouldn’t be us, the fact that without their hard work and efforts, we wouldn’t even have the chance of going into university. Let’s say, when your friends invites you over to their house, you don’t just rush in and attack the fridge, licking the internal structure clean, or rush into the master bedroom and starts bouncing on their parents’ bed because for your information, a bed is not a trampoline, no matter what the advertisements tell you, I can assure you that they are two different  things. Idiotic acts such as attacking your friend’s fridge or bouncing on their parents’ bed clearly shows that you do not, and I repeat, DO NOT truly respect your friend. If you really respect your friend, when they invite you over to their house, you should show them some courtesy, or act like civilized people, instead of the monster you are at home. You should take your shoes off before entering their house or ask them for their permission before going to their bathroom, which in most cases, they will say yes, but if they say no for some strange and awkward reason, then you have to find other ways of solving your problem. If you are going to a friend’s house, you should not go there empty-handed instead you should always bring some gifts. I am not telling you to bring expensive gifts like a diamond ring which is the size of a tennis ball, or a Plasma TV, although if you really insist then, that’s your choice. But usually, small gifts such as a basket of fruits would be enough to show your respect because after all, it’s the thought that counts. However, when bringing gifts, especially to a Chinese family, there are things you shouldn’t bring. Such items are clocks or pears because the Chinese word for clocks sounds the same as the Chinese word for death whilst the Chinese word for pear sounds the same as the Chinese word for separation. Another thing to keep in mind is remembering NOT, and I repeat, NOT to wrap the gifts in black or white since those colours are the ones used in funerals. I hope I am not discouraging you from going to Chinese friend’s house because of such rules; these are just little things that you should watch out for because the last thing you want is an angry mum chasing you down the street carrying a butcher knife, and shouting at you in Chinese, even if you cannot understand a word she is saying. Ok guys, since you are all such an attentive listener, I will let you in on a secret. When you go to your friend’s house, the moment you step into the house, you don’t go looking for the toilet or start licking the fridge, the first thing you have to do is to greet the parents. Normally, the reason why they may stare at you menacingly as you move around the house is because people often forget to greet them. Normally, when people enter the house, somehow they just manage to ignore the parent’s presence, even if they were  just standing in front of him. Now, if you want to see a smile on their faces, just remember to greet them as you enter the house- It doesn’t have to be very formal, just remember to say â€Å"Hi† as you enter and say â€Å"Bye, Thank you very much for having me† when you leave. Back in Singapore, when I was still young and youthful, the whole class had to stand up when the teacher came into the classroom. Now, you may think that standing up to welcome the teacher may not seem like much but to the teachers, it may mean the whole world to them. Think of it this way, the teachers give up their time and effort to teach us, so in return, all we have to do is to give up a bit of our time to welcome them, showing our respect for them. In conclusion, respect really plays an important aspect in our lives, whether it is towards our family, friends or teachers. When we respect one another, there will be fewer conflicts and everybody will get along better. So, try to respect one another, who knows, maybe one day, people will learn to respect you too. Min HanBibliography- None- Wrote it by myself