Reflect Before You React / Written by: Misha Azhar

Far far away in the town of Grastia, there lived a girl named Miana. She was held in high regard by everyone because she treated them with respect. Miana always honoured her elders and was ready to lend a helping hand to everyone in need. This good behaviour earned her the title of “The Respectful Girl” in her community.

Every day she woke up happily, and her days always ended well. However, problems do arise in everyone’s life, and the same happened to Miana. It was the worst day of her life. She was invited to an important party in the town hall. After getting ready in her favourite dress, she went happily walking through the streets. But suddenly, a speedy car raced by, splashing mud all over her clothes.

She went back home with a heavy heart, changed her clothes. She decided to go another way through the market. As she was making her way through a crowd, someone pushed her, causing her to fall hard. Her clothes were torn, and she suffered a few minor injuries.

Miana thought to herself that it seemed like every time she wore a fancy dress, something bad happened. With all her elegant outfits now either torn or dirty, she had no choice but to wear a simple dress for the party.

Finally, she arrived at the party. To her surprise, everyone praised her. She had feared they would rather make fun of her for wearing a simple dress, but nobody bothered that as her outfit perfectly matched the party’s theme.

However, on her way there, people on the street laughed and made fun of her. That experience left a deep mark on Miana. From that day, Miana changed. She began speaking with a rude accent and adopted bad behavior, walking arrogantly and no longer showing respect to others, as the embarrassment and anger from being mocked deeply affected her self esteem.

The once-happy town had become a gloomy and unhappy place. The children of the happy town, who had once looked up to Miana and learned the importance of respecting others from her, began to follow her example in everything. They admired her so much because everyone in the town loved the lessons she gave every evening. But when Miana changed herself, the children of the town stopped respecting others too. After her transformation, Miana herself was no longer the same—she constantly felt sad, tired, and unhappy.

Whenever Miana faced any problem in her life, she would visit her grandmother to seek an advice. One day, she visited her and shared everything that had been troubling her. Her grandmother listened to her and gently said, “Dear Miana, you should not have stopped respecting others. If you do, you become no different from those people who hurt you. Troublesome people exist everywhere, but you shouldn’t let them bring sadness into your life or stop you from living happily,wmo. Wise people simply ignore foolish attitudes, and that’s exactly what you should do.”

Miana realized that her actions had misled the children of the town. She rushed back to her town and began teaching them about respect, using her own experiences as a lesson. After that, Miana lived happily once more. She learned that respect is an important attribute, as it reflects our behaviour. People gain respect by working hard, not by just sitting idly at home. It is something that is hard to gain and easy to lose.