You are an Example

You may not realize it, but people are watching you. especially if you are a high scholar in a small school, and the "little kids" are around. People see what you act like, and pay attention. They are reacting to your actions, and reactions. You influence everyone in you cross paths whether you are trying to or not. If you are anything like me, little kids go up to you, and just want to talk. I think that while they are getting to know you, and talking with you, they are also watching you to see how they should act, towards others, and about hard situations. If they look up to you, they'll try and act like you do, and if they don't like you, or they think that you are mean, they won't necessarily try and act like you, but they might. I'm not saying that if you can get little kids to dislike you, they won't pick up on your actions and try them themselves, because they will.

Now, little kids aren't the only people who watch your actions and reactions. Adults, are watching you too. Older kids, or teens, also watch you, and have a little more comprehension than little kids. They can see if you are succeeding in multiple arias of life, and then decided if they want to be like you, where as little kids just do what everyone does. I would like to say that the older you get, the less you let the way other people act, affect you, but that isn't always true. Peer pressure is a big thing (that is a whole different post). The point that I'm trying to make, is that you are an example, and people are either using you as a good one or a bad one. My band teacher told us one day, that she wanted us to set the example not be the example. The reasoning behind that made a lot of scene. she said that when she though of someone setting the example, they were acting like everyone else should act like. Of course her motive was practicing, and we should practice hard, and show they younger kids that they should do the same, but it's basically the same thing. On the other hand, she thought that when someone called you an example, they were saying that you were an example of what not to do. I don't complacently agree with that, but it makes sense.

You can choose if you are a good example or not, but you have to make that choose.

Good luck to all of you, I hope you chose to be good examples, and have people look up to you and say "that's the kind of person I want to be!" rather than the saying "holly cow! I'm going to use that person to help remind me what not to do."
Have a wonderful weekend, and week!