"Respect that is earned, not given, lasts longer."

There's this woman whom I have known for 23 years. Considering that now I'm 30, you can say I have known her my entire life. Her father was the mayor of our town for the past 10 years.

Last year, she decided to run in our local election, to "continue her father's legacy". With nearly zero leadership experience, she was convinced she could win the election. The people in our tiny town seemed to respect her. They shared plenty of good testimonies about her qualities, pointing that she inherited her father's leadership skills. That amount of "respect" that she got made her pursued relentlessly - she even chose a less-known, out-of-town figure for her vice.

Eventually, she didn't win. In fact, she lost - quite spectacularly, I would say.

I haven't spoken to her for almost 2 years now. I didn't know the exact reason why she lost. I understand that politics have their magic tricks (money plays a big role), and such incidents might or might not happen to her. Many said that the people only "respected" her because her father was the mayor. Other than that, they saw no actual qualities that can make her the leader. She was too young, many said. The illusion of grandeur. She needed to show us her abilities first.

The kind of respect that she had was given, not earned.

And it didn't last.