I believe that life's toughest lessons are best learned through personal experience. Throughout my childhood, my grandmother 1 me with unconditional love but always stressed, "You're not 2 than anyone else, but you're just as good as anyone. Treat others with 3, and you would earn respect 4."
However, I never really 5 it until I was seventeen and got a summer job as a janitor. As I 6 floors and toilets, I watched people walk right by me and ignore my 7. This made me feel angry and wonder why they treated me so poorly.
When I 8 to my grandmother, she offered me some words of 9 and reminded me never to forget the feeling of being "10" and to do the best job, because it was still my work, in which I should take 11. She added that it would make me a better man someday.
Make me a better man someday? She must be 12, I thought to myself. But I needed the job to 13 college and there were few other jobs available, 14 I bit my tongue and kept on working as best as I could for the 15 of the summer.
Today, when asked what job helped prepare me to gain the 16 of a key university, I tell people it was my summer job cleaning restrooms that 17 me as a man and, down the road, as an educator.
As you can see, 18 can only be understood by walking in a lot of different shoes. So I suggest students 19 of their comfort zones and get deeply involved in different work and community experience. It's essential for people to find 20 in every person, no matter who they are or what they do for a living.
