As a sixth grader at Lane Elementary School, I found myself at constant conflict with another boy in my class. I normally got along with most of the other students in my class, however it was this one other boy who tested my patience almost every day that school year. It wasn't with him that I found failure, but with my teacher, counselor, and principal and trying to convince them I was never the one to blame whenever I would get into another fi ...view middle of the document...
My teacher would always ask what we were arguing about and whether it was getting hit in the head with a kickball or laughing about some joke he found offensive, she would always take his side because of how much that boy cried. The same thing happened when the frequency of our disputes escalated to a point at which the guidance counselor and principal had to intervene in our little disputes. The boy would cry in front of them and I would be seen as the bully. In order to just avoid getting into further trouble, I would have to conform with whatever the boy said and apologize without receiving one in return. This confrontation taught me above all else that there is no shame in letting things go or even adapting to a situation in order to move on to bigger and better things. Whenever I fought back or tried to argue my case and would make the boy cry, I would always end up in trouble wouldn't be able to eat lunch or have recess with other kids. I didn't get to participate in all of the fun activities that my friends were able to all because I didn't just accept the terms of our conflict and kept pushing for myself to be right.
