Integrity

Integrity is a quality we all should have, but often many people lack. It can be defined as being honest and having strong moral principles. It’s a difficult trait to possess, for it means to do the right thing, regardless of others and their thoughts and actions. It means to be honest, to be truthful. It means to be loyal to yourself and your beliefs, and not compromise your loyalty of either for another person. Your integrity grows as you mature and come to a realization on the rights and wrongs of a situation. Integrity grows as you learn the truth may cause more harm being kept than being said. Integrity grows as you learn what you want and believe in life, and you refuse to let outside voices alter them. I would like to believe I have such a noble trait as integrity. Often sympathetic, sometimes empathetic, I’m aware that my words and actions can cause harm to others. When I know the pain some words cause, I never dare to inflict that pain onto other people because I was raised to know the wrong in that. When jokes are cracked about noncomical things, such as race, sexual orientation, weight, physical features, and nonchangable characteristics, I don’t dare to laugh along. Behind that punch line is a person with emotions. When occurrences around me are harmful to others or myself, I refuse to engage myself in them. I remain locked on an opinion I know is right, even when everyone around me persuades for the wrong. Surrounded by people so unexposed to worldly issues and social issues, often the opinions of others will not match mine. Many times I have stood up against misogynistic, ignorant, or just plain rude comments and have been ridiculed or appeared poorly because I stood up to them and for my beliefs. I never abandon my opinions though, because if I don’t stand up for something morally unjust, I realize that no one else probably will.