R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Find out what it means to me
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
-Respect by Aretha Franklin

Yesterday the music world was saddened with the news Aretha Franklin passed away at 76. I’ve only listened to some of her songs and ‘Respect‘ is one of them. I also saw her in the Blues Brothers movie. Even though her life had a lot of sorrow, she still managed to become very successful. It just proves you can become something no matter from what background you come from. Most of all you have to respect yourself. If you listen to criticism and negative thinking, you won’t get far. There is always someone who says you can’t do things because [excuse here] You should do things you like and not because something is popular or because someone says you shouldn’t. You should not only have respect for yourself but also have respect for others.

This MeToo campaign has proved men who can’t keep their hands to themselves have no respect for women (and some men too) Respect is learned from home. These creeps probably had a mother who didn’t teach their little boys to have respect. Some women also sexually harass men and that’s because they haven’t learned respect either. Then these paparazzi who follow celebrities have no respect for privacy. Celebrities are human too. They should have the right to go on holiday without having to worry about nosy and money hungry beasts. Not forgetting people who actually read these gossip columns. They’re part of the problem too. I would never want to be famous because then you’re public property and I couldn’t go anywhere without being harassed by disrespecting people. Besides, I hate people looking at me.

You should respect differences and not judge the book by its cover. We can’t all be the same. Every life is precious and you can’t decide who have the right to be on this earth. There’s a lot of prejudice in the world. Some think disabled people, for example, are dumb but if you look behind that disability, they’re like everyone else. I went to school with people with a disability and they were all very nice people. They have a totally different look on life. They’re even nicer than so-called normal people. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to have the same rights as others. Especially in work life. If they get a job, it’s usually without pay. There a lot of jobs disabled can do. Anyone can become disabled. You could get into an accident and then your life changes completely. I really have a full respect for people with a disability. We all could learn a lot from them.

Respect can be so easily lost. One big mistake and all that respect are gone. All those people you knew in the past turned out to be fake. You thought they were your friends and you respected them but then they turned against you. Telling lies about you and spreading rumours. They could have been people you looked up to but then they failed you. Those kinds you things, you know. Once that happens you will never get that respect back no matter how they try to ask for your forgiveness. You should treat people with respect and if they don’t respect you, they’re not worth having around. Life is too short to have toxic people in your life. Jealousy has always been around and the only thing to avoid it is to move these people from your life altogether.  The most important thing is your own happiness and having people around who have respect for you is part of it.