Aging Beliefs










People at three different stages of life discuss what influences their beliefs

Part 1


Seven-year-old Mira Ram knows exactly how to define good and bad people. A good person, she says, is someone who isn’t a bully. They aren’t rude, they pay attention in school and they study at home. From there, it’s quite simple for her to define a bad person.

“Someone who's a bully, and is rude and doesn’t pay attention — basically the opposite of a good person,” Ram said.

As a third grader at Bluehills Elementary, her beliefs are strongly influenced by two things: her parents and her school.

In the beginning of the year, police officers came to her school to give a presentation about bullies, and as she learned more about upstanders and bystanders, she began to believe that good people are upstanders.

At home, her parents have instilled a strong belief in Ram about the benefits of studying. She wakes up at 6:30 a.m. every day to practice math in the morning, and believes that studying well will lead to a good life when she’s older.

Girl

As for her other beliefs, the first thing that came to her was her belief in God. With parents whose physical lives are deeply intertwined with their spiritual ones, Ram’s faith in God has never wavered in her seven years of life.

“I believe that God keeps us alive,” Ram said.

Ram believes that she learns from her experiences and the people she meets. As she grows older, she says her beliefs will change as she experiences different things and more people come into and out of her life. Her parents and little brother, two constants in her life thus far, have shaped her beliefs about both religion and morality.

“I lied once,” Ram said. “And I got in big trouble, so I believe I shouldn’t do that anymore. I didn’t like potatoes [so] when no one was looking I put it on my brother’s plate, [but] somehow my mom found out, and she gave me a big talk.”

Although Ram agrees that her beliefs are strongly influenced by her parents and her school, she also knows that her beliefs are her own. Her experiences and the people she meets are different from her parents, and therefore make her beliefs unique.

“We’re different people, even though we’re a family,” Ram said.