Are You on the Nice or Naughty List?

This is the awaited day. Stockings stuffed to the brim, presents under the tree, and the house smelling of pine and cinnamon. A boy and his sister race down the hallway, the boy shoving the girl aside to discover the contents in his stocking first.

Emptying his sock, his face quickly turns to dismay as hard blocks of coal spill on the floor. The radio plays "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town” in the background: “He's making a list, and checking it twice, gonna find out who’s naughty or nice.” The boy frowns at this bitter surprise.

Perhaps he should’ve listened more to the song's advice.

“...it's just a bedtime story to make children behave themselves…”

“In a way, I feel like it's just a bedtime story to make children behave themselves,” says junior Marcus John Palacio, referring to the popular holiday myth about the nice and naughty list. In this popular story, children with good behavior receive gifts from Santa, while ones with bad behavior get coal.

Senior Coleman Riddell explains that this story teaches “general morals that you would, should, like people to learn.” That is, good things come to good people, and bad things to bad people. “It’s justified by a just-world hypothesis,” Riddell offered.

Several other students agree with this perspective, and note that the story carries lessons that reflect how the real world works. “You get what you give, you know,” said sophomore Korynn Mouery. “If you put and do bad things into the world, then you're not gonna get good things back.”

Sophomore Skye Caroll added that “good karma's definitely a real thing. People who have good intentions and are nice people often get rewarded by the world.”

“Coal can be jail,” Sophomore Leabelle Catuday explains, describing a real world scenario for the nice and naughty list. “If you do something naughty, you can go to jail instead of receiving coal. But if you do something good, you get money or something.”

While there’s truth in what’s taught in the nice and naughty list, Mark Watasaki, Transition to high school teacher, offered a deeper understanding of the topic. “I don't think it's as black and white as that. Just because, I mean, you can find a lot of examples of bad things happening to good people, but also good things happening to bad people and vice versa.”

“I don't think people are punished for their bad actions,” said Palacio, who thinks the nice and naughty list is not an accurate representation of who’s rewarded or punished in the real world.

Nicole Bear, who’s currently teaching math, agrees: “there's a lot of naughty people who get away with all kinds of things.”

Even so, just because the real world doesn’t always reward good behavior or punish bad actions, ”Morally,” Watasaki advises, “I think that you should try to be on the nice list.”

“...We're not always naughty all the time, nor are we nice all the time...”

When asking where people believe they fall on the list, responses varied.

With confidence, freshman Drew Briones thinks heʻs on the nice list “because I’m kind.” Catherine Apilado, a senior, also says she’s on the nice list because “I’m always willing to help others. Even though some people can be mean, I always try to be kind.”

Many students who mentioned being on the nice list also acknowledged that they still experience shortcomings. Junior Bella Topino, for instance, says “I genuinely believe I'm on the nice list.” While there’ve been times she’s lied or acted in not so great ways, after all of that, she argued, she’s grown into a better person through those experiences.

Caroll also acknowledges that she’s made mistakes, but she learns from them as she works to become “the best version of myself.” That, along with being open minded and kind, is what she hopes has earned her a place on the nice list.

More lightheartedly, Catuday says “I'm on the nice list because I share my food. Yeah I'm nice.” She paused before adding “most of the time.”

“...we all slip up every once in a while…”

Senior Jowy Langaman said heʻs on the naughty list “unfortunately,” because “I do bad things.” When asked to elaborate, he ended with “I won't list.”

Watasaki says he also “would be on the naughty list,” because “I have a potty mouth. And uh–you know, there are things we just can't put on the record.”

“I’m naughty. And for why? Um, I don’t know–it’s just funny,” joked senior Elijohn Agbayani. “I feel like I’m in between. I always play around but I’m also nice to people.”

Like Agbayani, many others say they can’t categorize themselves as either nice or naughty. Bear points out that we’re all human and “we all slip up every once in a while. We're not always naughty all the time, nor are we nice all the time.”

“…Just trying to do the best that you can…”

For most students, what truly makes someone as naughty or nice was not what theyʻd done but what they intended to do.

Freshman Lilinoe Borges puts it simply: “if your intention is to be naughty, then I guess you'd be considered naughty. But if your intention is to do good things, then you’re nice.”

“It's more on, like, deeper levels, like, their characteristics and what they're willing to do against others,” Palacio expresses. Someone who’s naughty may consciously harm people, and might be willing to do so again.

When someone is naughty, Mouery thinks, “you're kind of just selfish and don't do things that benefit other people and you're just kind of self-centered.” When someone is nice, “You do things for the greater good of other people and don't expect anything in return.”

While Sophomore Asher Magno agreed, he also pointed out that it’s important to look out for yourself. “Trying to be nice 24/7, with no mistakes at all–I think that wouldn’t be good. Even if it's good for people around you, people you're hanging out with, and keeping a good reputation, it's not good for yourself mentally.”

The ultimate nice person is one who “wants the best for everybody, wants to become the best version of themselves, is selfless,” said Carroll. But, agreeing with Magnoʻs point, Carroll also thinks a nice person “prioritizes self-respect.”

“It would be the perfect balance, I guess,” said Riddell, commenting on the idea: “someone who looks out for themselves, but also looks out for others.” Realistically, though, “I think that it's an impossible goal. So I think just trying to do the best that you can is what you can do.”

“...what is happening in their lives…”

Maya Hendrickson, a junior, thinks that “a lot of things can influence people’s behavior such as how they were raised, their family, friends, and what is happening in their lives.” Factors such as these “can make some people act out or make people be kinder.”

“I feel like it all depends on how they grew up,” Junior Annika Yu-Cua also says, putting into perspective how someone’s upbringing can be influential to their behavior.

Catuday explains that “if you had a really bad one (upbringing), you would probably lean more into the naughty side.”

In agreement, Riddell explained that “if you were growing up in an environment where it is acceptable to do certain behaviors, you're going to be more tempted to do that just by default, unless you otherwise train yourself or see influences outside of that.”

“Your peers and your friends, who you hang out with have a big reflection on who you are,” said Carroll.

For Borges, friends can guide behaviors. She gives an example, saying if you see a friend doing something, “you can be like, ‘Oh, I would want to do that too’ or ‘maybe I should do it to be cool and fit in.’” She speculates that this influence is what leads to many students “vaping and smoking.”

Others suggest that internal motivations play a big role in how people act and the choices they make. When an action can result in a reward benefiting a person, that possibility can influence how they behave when pursuing that award. “I feel like it's their desires and what they want,” explains Palacio. Is that want “in the red or the gray zone? And who is it gonna happen against?”

“Fear of internal damnation is also a really big factor into how people behave,” Watasaki mentions. Possible consequences or punishments can alter the choices people make.

“It’s like how the allure of heaven wasn’t enough on its own, so they had to make hell. And it's like ‘hey man, if you don't do this, you’re going to suffer.’” Similar to the idea on how those who aren’t on the nice list get coal.

In the end, no one is perfect and “Some could also be having a bad day too, and they just can’t help but like be so mean,” suggests Briones.

“…There's always room to improve…”

But what gift should those who are really on the naughty list get?

“You know, someone who's fought and has worked their butt off, they do not get the same results as someone who's committed a felony or something,” Riddell says. Regardless, those on the naughty list deserve something more than coal. They need, he suggested, “something to actually help you improve.”

There’s hope, said Magno. “There's always room to improve, room to redeem, you can always redeem yourself.” Doing so involves “working towards being a better person and acknowledging your faults,” Caroll comments.

Borges believes “people do change. It's just, it's up to that person if they want the change.” Change involves learning from your mistakes and making an effort to do so. Though it might be easier said than done.

“It just takes time, energy, and grace, and compassion, empathy, for all parties involved,” Riddell highlights. “It's a lot of grace for yourself to even allow yourself to grow.” And it’s equally as important to let people grow, and “give them the space to work on themselves,” continued Riddell.

“Everyone deserves a good gift, even if they’re on the naughty list,” an anonymous freshman insisted.

“...Give Someone a Smile…”

Whether you’re on the naughty or nice list–or perhaps the gray in between, everyone should try to do something nice for others–something nice that they mean.

“Give someone a smile or like give someone a compliment,” Riddell suggested. Saying something genuine and true, even if you don’t realize, can make an impact. Even if they don’t take your words or actions in, your kindness truly reflects your efforts within.

If a teacher is struggling to say a name, “help them out” Borges says. Even small acts such as those can go a long way.

Throughout the year, we should do our best to be nice. During this season, be joyful as Christmas unfolds. While the nice and naughty list may only be a Christmas tale, it doesn’t hurt to put out some love into the world, and maybe you’ll leave a bright moment in someone else’s story that they’ll share.