Putting the Human in Humility

People define humility as weakness, timidity, or lack of leadership, yet no one is right all the time. America thrives off of individuality. The freedom to be my own person or focus on my dreams is what draws people in; however, the lack of meekness is what my downfall becomes because my parents told me to focus on myself and not others. I worked hard on who I want to be, and in high school my teacher ingrained the concept of standing up for what I believe. Now that I am in college, all the professors and college staff tell me is that this is the time for me to make dreams, and opportunities come alive no matter the cost. Somewhere along the lines modesty faded away, and I began to expect others to look up to me because of all my accomplishments. After I started college I felt like every time my parents said something wrong I had to correct them, since I am a “college girl.” I was arrogant enough to disrespect my parents instead of nicely explaining why I know there is a better answer; I realized that demureness is more important than egotism. What if every person let go of their pride for one day and focused their attention on another human being? Maybe the world would see a difference in all the problems that the country is facing if we threw away our smugness and added some humbleness.

No matter how hard I try, there will always be a sense of selfishness in me because this is by nature who human beings are; everyone, everywhere, live for themselves in some way that may be different from my own. In high school, I never excelled in sports, social skills, or even driving, but I surpass a lot of people in academics; I knew how to get the grades I wanted, and the other students began to notice. Helping the other kids started out inn...

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...ore I began to grow used to being in the spotlight and my family always letting me win at the board games. The first time I decided to help other people besides myself was in the tenth grade; I joined Key Club that was founded on the basis of community work, but all of the service hours I put in were not for others. “All of the hands-on service provided to children by Key Club International members is directed to a single area of need, to make a substantial impact” (“Key Club” 1). I thought signing up for a club with a service motto would increase my chances of getting into a better college, while making me think I was better than those who did no community work. Although I have not always possessed an unassuming quality, I feel over time I will grow out of my need to put my desires first; the best thing I can do is look to those who already act out of selflessness.