Ethics

My ethics are simply defined by those who I have lived with and around. Some are similar and some have resulted in becoming the opposite of those people. It is hard to write about my own ethics since I am so used to them and haven't ever given them much or any thought. The one that comes to mind right away is manners in all aspects. From a young age, I remember my mother and my Alabama born father instructing me of verbal manners (please, thank you, sir, ma'am etc.). My parents lead mostly by example and catching the occasional mishap by myself. By observing them and the way they spoke to others, I was able to gather certain forms of respects one would use everyday. My father hammered humbleness into my head when it came to any actions I did that resulted in punishment. This was anything like fighting with my brothers, lying, or even stealing(yes stealing, I was around age 9 at the check out line at Marsh and I thought you could simply grab some candy from the rack and everything would be fine). Little by little starting with the first wrongdoing I learned a sense of right and wrong. What helped most was seeing my parents do something wrong, owe up to it, and apologize. My siblings contributed to my ethics as well. Sometimes, showing me what to do and what not to do. They, like my parents, were good figures for me to observe growing up. Seeing the different types of friends each brother or sister hung out with helped me choose my own group of friends. Many times, seeing them choose poor friends who were bad influences caused me to stay away from those types of people. Traveling through the years from a mere infant, my constant observance of others and how they naturally react to situations formed the set of ethics I have today.