There is something very important you need to understand.
You can not demand respect.

You can only earn it.

I am not talking about the trappings of respectful behavior or the workings of gentility.
I am speaking of honest deferential esteem.

And the harder you try to demonstrate you are due a deep and abiding respect the longer it will take you to earn that rare honor.


It is not a party favor you get just for coming, and it is not something you are due just because you like yourself.
You do not deserve respect because you are smart or pretty, you gather it, like a moss on stone, through how you handle those attributes, and how you demonstrate your character.

There is one thing for sure, though: when it is lacking, there is no mistaking it.