As "adults," (in quotes because seriously, we're not really adults when it's still acceptable to take your laundry home to your mom) we're supposed to be responsible.
We're supposed to go to class, pay our bills and help our fellow man. We're basically supposed to do the right thing, and we expect everyone else to do the same.
But sometimes it seems like the "golden rule" gets lost somewhere in between sharing your crayons and sharing your cubicle.
I held the door for two older women entering Harrison Hall the other day who seemed genuinely shocked that I did so.
They showered me with gratitude as if I was their grandchild who'd just brought them flowers.
Today, I watched someone do the same thing for three Miami University girls who didn't even stop their conversation to acknowledge him, and I thought: have we lost our responsibility to our fellow man?
Where did that sense of looking out for each other go?
Was that just a nostalgic idea, moral responsibility?
This semester, I had two very different experiences with owners of Oxford businesses that really made me think about this concept.
In September, I wanted a new hairstyle before my crucially important 21st birthday, but had no time to go to my ever-wonderful stylist back home.
I made an appointment with Luna Blu Salon, because after months marveling at the beauty of the salon itself, I figured a little trip would be a great present to myself.
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I could not have been more mistaken.
Let me first explain something about hair salons and women: we pay for the experience as much as the end result.
We love the smell of the hair color, the chatter of the gossip through hair dryers and snipping scissors.
So when I paid almost one hundred and twenty dollars for three tedious hours in a salon, at the end of which I blow-dried and styled my own hair and missed work here at The Student, I was upset to say the least.
Having never experienced something like this at any previous salon, I decided to call the salon later in the week to convey my unhappiness and hopefully receive some reimbursement.
Instead, I was told that I should have been charged more money for having thicker hair than most people, and that it was my own fault, essentially, that my appointment took so much time.
I was offered no compensation, and am continuously baffled by this irresponsible handling of a customer, and fellow person.
Now I offer a converse example. A friend hit my car a few weeks ago, and very kindly and promptly offered to pay for the repairs. This in itself is the kind of responsibility we rarely see in Oxford, where students hit each other's cars like they're playing bumper cars with their Mercedes.
With this in mind, I went hunting for the best auto body shop in the area.
Many of the people I talked to were short with me, offering me bottom line numbers with little explanation, assuming I'd be one of those girls who would just hand over daddy's platinum card and pay whatever price they offered.
There was one shop, Stateline Auto Body, which stood out immediately from these, whose staff was exceedingly kind and thorough. I brought my car there last Monday and picked it up on Friday.
I'm not a car person. Cars don't excite me.
But when they opened the garage and my little car was shining at me in its exquisite silver flawlessness, I seriously felt like Christmas came early.
The fact that it looked brand new was particularly magical to me, since I'm so un-savvy about cars that I don't know how to turn off my oil change reminder.
The staff explained all the repairs to me in language I could understand, helped me with payment options, and even picked me up to get my car when it was finished.
I pulled out in my clean looking and smelling car (they even cleaned the inside, no charge), thinking about the dichotomy between these experiences.
I realized that the moral "responsibility" we have to respect each other shouldn't really be called a responsibility.
We aren't always held accountable by society if we're nice to each other or not.
There are successful people who treat others terribly; there are businesses that will make money even if they treat some customers terribly.
Maybe it isn't responsibility, but freedom.
We have a choice, regardless of age, status or career, to treat people with the respect we expect in return.
Long after this holiday season, when kindness is no longer advertised, we should remember this choice.
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