Thinking Positive of Others

Assalamualaikum~!

As you can see, I'm trying to get back on the swing of blogging again, and I'll hopefully add pictures to keep my posts interesting in future posts. But while I'm here with an idea of a post in mind, I might as well type 'em all out~

At the start of the school year, Dar-Izzah is introduced to a fresh group of little seventh-graders about to meet their d--I mean, paradise! (Let's just see how long they last.) Anyway, meeting new people is a challenge to most because of the change it's going to bring to our class. For a start, the tenth-graders have already moved to their new isolated class (I still cry inside). However, I kept this sour feeling of discomfort towards change from befriending and getting to know the new students.

The first few weeks, I kept telling myself to find the good in the new kids, even though I've found their flaws already. But I kept quiet until a couple of friends pull me in for some 'juuuuicy gossip'. Needless to say, they spouted everything bad about the new students, every single thing everyone heard or saw, whether or not in context, and pulled grimaces of all shapes and sizes. Well, maybe I'm exaggerating just a tad bit, but it's true. They said everything that I restrained myself from saying. When I tried to defend the new kids, I always received an exasperated, "Why do you always see their good side?" or "How can you say she's nice?" and it irks me a lot.

First of all, are you suggesting that thinking good of others is a crime? They haven't done anything to me or to you or disrupt the atmosphere of the class yet and you already set off this unfriendly mood? Personally, yes, after a few weeks, I do find some of them pretty rude and immature, but we all have that inside of us, don't we? Besides, the last time they did this, they became close friends with the person they judged so quickly. I just don't really understand why seeing good in people is wrong.

While I'm saying all this, I admit that yes, I am guilty of gossips and backstabs a lot of times and I'm hoping to put that all in the past now that my goal is to refresh and take baby steps to leave badmouthing others. But when I really want to change, the influence of friends pulled me back into this sin, and every single time, my guilty conscience was all tied up, screaming, trying to escape.

This year, I'm taking the friendly approach and try to find good in all these new students that will stay with me for another year. As a result, I am good friends with most of them and enjoy their company. In fact, I don't think I'll even get this close if I keep searching for their wrongs and thinking bad about them since day one.

Even if you find a person to be unpleasant, the best thing you can do is approach them, befriend them, and advise them. But with our mouths running, isn't it logical to fix ourselves before finding the faults of others first?

Think about it.