RIHLA #23

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I have always believed that how you treat others will definitely impact the way your life will end up. I was always told that what goes around comes around, and sometimes the outcome will be good and other times the outcome will be bad. Treating people how you want to be treated is very important because you never know where you will end up in life. Sometimes you don’t realize how bad you treat a person until they are gone, and by then it is entirely too late to apologize.

Growing up, I was the type of child who always spoke my mind. I never bit my tongue for anybody. I felt that in order for me to have a close-knit relationship with a lot of people, they needed to know how I felt about them. I grew up in the church, and I do realize that a lot of people have the perception that if you’re in the church, you have to act a certain way for people to like you.

I was raised in the church, and my mother used to always sit us on the second row, to ensure that we would not fall asleep. Service would last for about 3 hours and then I would be ready to leave. In the church, I came across a guy, who I now consider my “play cousin”. We developed a bond thicker than any other bond I had with someone. Every day, my cousin and I would talk on the phone, share secrets, go out to eat, participate in church; anything you could think of. It wasn’t until 2 months before his death that I stopped talking to him because he did something that I didn’t like. I ignored him all the time, never replied to his messages; I distanced myself from him. I knew I was treating him bad, but I thought he needed to know how I felt about certain situations. Once again, that was a moment where I didn’t bite my tongue and I let him know how I felt.

His last Sunday in church, he attempted to spark a conversation, when I told him I was mad at him and didn’t want to talk to him. His last words to me were “Well, I still love you”. The next day, he was murdered. Sometimes I feel so guilty for the way I acted towards him because he’s gone and I can’t apologize. That is why I believe that the way I treated him; someone will treat me that same way. Karma comes back two fold, probably more. Be careful how you treat people, because it might turn around on you. This I believe.

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