“Stand up, please.”
A judge said in a soft voice to a girl who was in the court for theft. When the girl stood up hesitantly, the judge added, “Repeat after me in a loud voice. ‘I’m the best-looking person in the world. I can do everything. I’m not afraid of anything in this world. I’m not alone in this world.’ ”
The girl, who was repeating after the judge in a loud voice, burst into tears in the end.
Actually, the girl used to be a good student until the beginning of the previous year; she got good grades in school and dreamed of becoming a nurse. However, as she was beaten up by a group of students, she started going astray and became a juvenile delinquent.
The judge who had considered her situation just asked her to “stand up and shout.” He said with teary eyes, “One mistake she made was losing her self-esteem. So I think I have to make a decision to help her recover her self-respect.”