Values/ Personal Essay

            Children seem to have a genuine angelic outlook on life. They see the world as a big place filled with little forms of life. However as they grow older, they begin to forget what life is all about. Growing up was a hard thing for me. Everything seemed out of place and now doing what was right did not come easy. Most of my peers began to abuse alcohol, drugs and almost everything they could get their hands on. They abused their bodies, their minds but mostly the world around them. They lost respect for the fact that they were alive and healthy. Forgot that life is lived to the fullest when each day is lived as their last day. I was almost lost into this deep, black hole but a single event changed everything and brought me back to the world I was born to love.
             When I was a child I lived in a very close set neighbourhood where everyone knew everyone else. I knew all the children around my age and we always played around the park. One of our favourite games was to pretend that we were animals. We use to crawl around and make homes out of wood and leaves. On many occasions we helped animals that were wounded and brought them home or to clinics. We were like a miniature animal society in our neighbourhood. Our number one rule was to respect nature, especially animals. My childhood was a happy one and I looked upon these people as family. I thought we would never change. I thought that we would always be there for each other and especially the animals. Boy, was I in for a shock! Time went by as it must and we grew up to be young adults. I noticed that my childhood friends began to change. Their outlook on life began to change. They no longer saw the world as a beautiful thing created by God but a boring, mean place that everyone abused. Now, nature and its creatures that they respected when they were children were worthless and annoying. I did not really pay too much attention to this at the time, only to acknowledge the fact that they changed.