Whether you are talking to friends or professors, respect is something that should come naturally.

We should not have to base our respect on someone’s age or status when compared to our own. Just because someone is older than you, that does not mean they automatically deserve your respect.

However, the same is true for people younger than you. You don’t deserve their respect from the get go; you have to earn it.

Leadership status doesn’t always warrant respect either. There are malicious leaders out there.

When meeting new people, it is important to give the relationship time to grow before you decide whether someone is worthy of respect or not. It is also possible to respect someone as one part of themselves, but not all.

Back in high school, there were a couple of people who I didn’t respect as people, but I couldn’t help but respect them as musicians. This is often the case with people that you don’t particularly like.

In the same way, people might respect you as one thing, such as a student or a writer, but not as a person. And that’s okay. We should show respect to those who deserve it. Age is also not a factor.

That’s not to say that elders should be ignored; we can learn a lot from the previous generations because they have stories to tell. We can study World War II, but we can learn even more by talking to someone who lived through it.

One of my most prized possessions is a book that my grandfather wrote, detailing his life. He grew up during the Great Depression, worked on the family farm, served in the military and so much more.

None of those personal stories make the history books, so of course we should show respect to those who have come before us. Being older than someone does not mean you are granted extreme respect.

You have to earn respect, through being kind and helpful. Show people how you can help them, and they will probably respect you more than simply by your age.