Rules

These are the rules that I live by every day. These are the rules I have learned to follow since the day I was born. They are the rules my parents have taught me:

• Look both ways before crossing the street
• Respect other peoples' property
• Treat others the way I'd want to be treated
• Follow the ten commandments
• Don't write on furniture or walls
• Don't smoke
• Don't drink
• Don't chew
• Don't go with girls who do
• Don't cuss
• Don't give "lip" to adults
• Don't watch The Simpsons
• Motion is two thirds of promotion (actually I got that one from a motivational poster on the ceiling of an MRI room but it's pretty good)
• Don't pick your nose, especially not in public
• Do homework before play
• Stick to your word
• WWJD- what would Jesus do?
• FROG- fully rely on God
• DOG- depend on God (and all those other churchy acronyms)
• Stand up for what you believe in
• Be careful what you see
• Be careful what you hear
• Don't store up all your treasures on Earth but instead in Heaven
• Love your neighbor as yourself
• Obey the curfew
• Don't eat all the chips in one sitting
• Millions of others.

These are the rules my parents should've taught me:

• Too much practice is never enough
• Don't argue all the time
• Don't write on the back of your tests when you finish before the rest of the class, especially if its something about the teacher
• Don't throw the dodgeball as hard at the girls
• Be more outgoing
• Don't load your schedule so much that you can't devote a large amount of time to sports
• Get a girlfriend early while they're not all taken and youre still one of 30 guys instead one of 1,000

My parents did a good job of instilling rules in my life from an early age and I'm very glad. Many times I think they are too strict and I'm sure my friends do to, but I am thankful and someday I will be more thankful. I know I will realize down the road that the choices I'm making now are only easy because of the strength of morals and rules I have learned. I won't be led down the wrong road and it will be easy not to.

I can only hope someday I can get to make the same rules for my child and feel what its like to make the rules that make life seem miserable but that are so worth it.