Endings

Yesterday I went to a celebration of a wonderful person's life, and the end of it.
I didn't know her too well, but I surely do know her daughter.
I found myself crying though and later realized it was because of two reasons. One was that my dear friend was crying next to me and another was that the priest's words make me think deeply.
After the ceremony, I was glad to find a much lightened mood among my friends.
It's cliche to think and say this but when we walked out of the chapel building, all hugged her and each other and then began talking about other things and laughing, it seemed as if we helped her leave the loss behind, though she has seemed to cope with it very well already.

Today, I went to the last band concert as a junior. It was bittersweet. The director is leaving, he gave me an award and said that all the boys should emulate me. Imagine a band rehearsal with everyone acting like Hedieh....it looks too proper and not that fun.
But because of the circumstances I did not even say hi to him individually. Every time I passed by his parents I looked down or away. He didn't look at me much either. My mom was telling me her opinion (first impression really) about all the kids in band. When he walked up to get his award she said "He is a really really nice guy." and she only used such emphasis on niceness for him. Of course it was just a first impression but:

I found it ironically great.

Now I find myself thinking why people are often so critical of one another.
We're only human and imperfect.
Why not help each other become better people rather than look at one another with contempt?
I wonder...