I guess being a nice person doesn’t account for anything anymore. The reason I say that is because when I try to be nice to those who look like they need help, those students think I’m doing it just because.

What a lame excuse that is.

Excuse me, that is not true and the reason why is because I have been taught to be respectful of everyone, including anyone in a wheelchair.

I have run into a situation with someone in a wheelchair twice, once this semester and once last semester, and the attitude that this person had was that those who are “able-bodied” should have gone first.

However, when I tried to hold the door for that person, the act wasn’t taken as a courtesy but as offensive.

That is something that I don’t understand and not everyone is rude in that sense. But I am not just blaming those who don’t see the courtesy of those who try to help; there is also the other side of the situation where people need to be more helpful and take away the assumption that you are not being courteous.

If you have ever needed help with something that needed to be carried have you ever stopped to think when you asked for help how many people actually stop to do so?

What about when you needed help just picking something up from the floor when you weren’t able to? How many people actually came to your aid when you needed them the most?

It brings back that saying, “Nice guys finish last.”

I have been in that situation when I was young.

I had two operations to learn to be able to walk and that included being in a wheelchair at one point. I was at a vulnerable point and was looking for someone who would be concerned.

The only person that cared enough to be there wasn’t a stranger but it was my mother. I did however think about what if I was facing the same situation and if I was in school. Questions arose from “What if?” to “What happens next?”

The fact of the matter is we need to look at ourselves more often and learn to appreciate, if not respect, those who are around us. In addition, we have to stop being egotistical and realize that despite the differences that every one of us have, we are equal.

Look at it this way, it would make you upset if your mother or father would face absolutely no courtesy whatsoever from the people that know them; their own family.

Everyone faces a need from someone’s help everyday whether you admit it or not. Just imagine if the shoe was on the other foot and you were in need of help, or where someone who was either blind or in a wheelchair, would you seriously consider helping that person out or just leaving them hanging?

So the next time someone holds the door for you, it is not just because; there may be one day when you need them.