Writing

Life is full of relationships; relationships between friends, relationships between relatives, classmates, and all the other relationships make our lives fun and meaningful. Each type of relationship is unique, and all are valuable, though some may be more obvious than others. For example, through a true friend, one can learn the qualities of courage, loyalty, etc., through an authority figure (parent, teacher), one can learn the qualities of obedience and honesty, and through even relationships between bullies and the bullied, people can learn to stand up for themselves, and to have courage. All these things make our lives meaningful, so that we can learn through others' weaknesses and strong points to make ourselves a better person. This is the true meaning of society; this is the true reason to live together in a community. The reason is to help each other and to learn from each other. In the book Carter Finally Gets It, by Brent Crawford, Carter has a life full of all kinds of relationships: ones with his girlfriend, Abby, ones with his worst enemy, Andre, and ones with his friends. Each type is a valuable lesson to be learned, each one a unique experience. For example, Carter develops courage, learning it from Abby. At he beginning of the book, he's stuttering and unfocused around girls. Now, he feels that he can be himself around them. Even though he still might be scared to death around girls still, he has developed the courage to approach them. He also learns the quality of loyalty. In one very klutz move, he tells Abby that he loves her, and then asks Amber Lee, another girl, to the school dance. Upon hearing this, Abby is really sad, and decides to break up with Carter. Carter learned through this experience that it is truly important to be loyal. Through his friends, he learns many other qualities, and even through the unlikely teacher, his worst enemy, Andre. Through Andre, he learns how to destroy enemies. No, that doesn't mean Carter got a rifle and shot Andre. He didn't literally destroy his enemy by killing or even hurting Andre. No, he destroyed his enemy by getting rid of his enemy; notice that he got rid of his enemy, not Andre. That means that he made friends with Andre. Abraham Lincoln once said, "Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?" Isn't that true? Yes, in the beginning of the book, he tried to take out Andre by trying to beat him at everything, from football to swimming. In fact, it even works sometimes. He's so mad at his enemy that he overcame his weak, not athletic self to slam into Andre, the running back of the football team, and tackle him and set him back in every way possible. But he later learned that literally bruising him would not set him back; he needed to get rid of the enemy quicker. That's why Andre is now his friend. More friends and less enemies makes a person way better than if he or she is weakening themselves or/and others by constantly fighting. So every person has a unique and valuable lesson that they can offer, whether it's one's enemy, or their best friend.