As years went by, I became less and less violent. I personally think that the environment I grew in was one of the biggest reasons why I turned from a violent to a calm person. My parents always discouraged any form of aggression at home. My sisters and I were expected to be disciplined and controlled. If I did something bad or misbehaved, my mother would say I was bad and that whatever I did would come back to me. I was taught to feel how others felt.

I remember one incidence when I was really small. I saw a black ant running on my mother’s feet and fearing that it would hurt her, I crushed it and killed it. Seeing what I had done my mother asked me why I had killed the ant and I told her the reason. She explained to me that the ant wouldn’t hurt her. She told me to imagine how the ant must have felt when it was crushed and how I would feel if I were crushed. She also asked me if I could make it alive again. I still have a vivid memory of this incident because I think I was distressed. I was made to feel awful for my actions and I could not undo what I had done.

Children are malleable and I think they should be shaped in an environment that encourages love and care towards others rather than hatred and lack of sympathy. If everyone could be able to step into other people’s shoes, I think the world would be a much more peaceful place.

It is hard for me to imagine what people might have done that was upsetting for so many others, so upsetting that first years would even decide to leave the college. I am concerned about how the experience is going to affect them and their thoughts in the future.

When people form communities and work in them, it is natural for them to form bonds with it, and want aspects of it to not change. But it is also important for us to realize that changes are a part of life. How we deal with the changes is a different matter. I personally think that we should try and accept the changes if we cannot stop them. Even if we don’t accept changes, we should not trouble innocent people. The college has good reasons for going coed and I think that we should support it. It is hard times that teach us important lessons; this is the right time for us to learn to deal with changes. We should help the college in this difficult time, not create more difficulties.

It would be good if people didn’t mess with other people’s stuffs, like posters and buttons. Let’s talk to one another, listen to one another, respect one another’s views; let’s try and build a peaceful community; let’s try to live with the change; let’s make things easier, not difficult, for one another; let’s make it possible for everyone to have a great experience in this great college. It might be difficult but it will certainly be better than wasting our time and efforts troubling innocent people.