From birth onwards we are bombarded with confusing contradictions. We are constantly taught to respect others, and then we hear adults breaking promises and talking meanly to one another and about each other. They teach you never to be rude, and then they tell you to hang up the phone on a telemarketer, who is only trying to do his or her job. We are consistently shown how not to act, and yet then we are told that children learn by imitation. For me, my two biggest sources of confusion come from the frustration I feel when I don’t share my voice and feelings with them, and then when I attempt to speak about events which have personal meaning for me, I am told to shut my mouth. My other source of internal conflict is my mental knowledge that I am my own person, and know what is good and what is not. This is counteracted by the emotions I feel when I am given the knowledge that I do not live up to the standards set by other people. I am my own person. I have my own values. I have my own goals. I learn at my own pace. What others find easy, I might struggle with tremendously. Therefore, shouldn’t my success be a measure of how hard I had to try to get as far as I did? Why should my success be measured by the abilities of others? The point is, I am my own person and it shouldn’t matter. Then why do I feel so empty inside when other people view my trials as a failure? Why do I care so much, no matter how much I tell myself it is not important? The devil attempts to take hold over my heart. My choice is how much will I allow righteousness to push his claws away from the crevices in my mind and heart?