Entry 5
My Two Bytes ... On Whom I admire most and why? (a short essay for a psych 101 class)
One tends to admire he that has had the greatest influence and caused the most change in his life. More than anyone, my son Harrison is that person. He is almost a year and a half old and barely over two-feet tall; yet he stands much taller than my five-foot-ten physique. Who would have thought that a toddler could have made such a difference in a grown man’s life? Due to his influence I have become much more compassionate, tolerant, and above all, humble.
My compassion toward my son sprung from the first time my hand felt him wiggle within my wife Kara’s womb like a tiny salamander. Those feelings relatively increased throughout her gestation as he grew. We discussed the anxieties and dreams we had as soon-to-be parents. Would we be effective in teaching him right and wrong? Those pre-birth anxieties helped me to form a deep compassion not only for my son, but also for life itself and a mutual respect for both.
Growing up in a prejudice home teaches one to place himself above another. Therefore, teaching my son to do such was never on the agenda. So many times small children are punished for doing something they learned from their parents’ bad example. Harrison has helped me to be tolerant of so many things and ideas different than my own, because I don’t want him to learn intolerance.
Many people define humility as sadness, normally due to your financial status. When my wife decided to be a stay at home mother, our financial status did decrease, but we are not sad by any means. In reality, humility is realizing that there is something better in life than what we have attained so far. Everyday lessons humble me; the most important of which are to forgive and forget, and to get up to play quickly after you’ve taken a fall.
Harrison has transformed me into a better man. He has helped me realize that life is about more than personal desires. Although he’s only walked for six months himself, he has taught me to march through life with a renewed sense of meaning. He is the greatest man to live on this earth and I admire him for it.