Definition Essay

Amanda Wolfrom
Mrs. Sjostrom
AP Language and Composition / Period 7
15 November 2014
Trust is Vital
Trust is defined in the dictionary as “one in which confidence is placed,” but it is something much deeper and complex than that. Trust isn’t just telling your friend a secret and knowing she won’t spread it around. We trust all kinds of people every day, people we know, people we don’t know, and people we don’t even see. Because of this, we have to have a mutual trust among ourselves and the people around us.
When driving, drivers have to trust every other driver around them. They trust that the people at the intersections will stop at stop signs and red lights. They trust that they will have brake lights that work and will use their turn signals. They constantly trust people they don’t know will follow the same laws. When people get in an accident caused by others, they lose a bit of that trust and are nervous while driving for a period of time after the accident. This happens all the time. Our trust is broken in an instant and we are on guard and are sure not to let that happen again.
Social media has opened up a whole new context for trust to be kept and broken. Not only do people trust their friends and partners with their texts and information, they also trust that people, like their partners, are using social media in the correct and faithful way. So often now, celebrities’ photos are leaked onto the Internet. They send them to their boyfriends or they just have them on their phones, but soon, they’re trending on Twitter. They trusted that what they wanted to be private would stay private. Some may blame it on the fame, but this happens to normal people too. Social media is the easiest way to break someone’s trust and whatever is posted cannot be taken back.
When raising a child, parents, especially first-time parents have to trust themselves and their instincts. When parents think their child is getting sick, they have to trust that instinct and seek medical attention. Once they ignore it and it backfires, they’ll never ignore those instincts again. Sometimes that has to happen to get a parent to really pay attention and worry. But also, some

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