People have always been judgmental
of other people. I remember a time when I was only a freshman, and all of the
upperclassmen looked down at me. They treated me like a freshman and looked at
me like I was inferior. I didn’t really know anyone in the school, other than
my sisters. I didn’t buy the expensive clothes like the other girls, and I
usually wore my sports clothes to school. I started out as a very reserved and
quiet person. People started to talk about the way I talked and acted. They
would say that I was boring, and that I didn’t have a life. One thing everybody
knew about me was that I have always been a serious tennis player. Tennis has
been my life, and I am fully committed to achieving great things in this sport.
The other girls didn’t even know me, but they still went and told other people
that I was weird and that I wore sweats every day to school.
I look back
at that time, and I wish that there were someone who would have given me a
chance. I wish that I didn’t try to change myself to fit to other people’s
desires. I wish that there were someone who had tried to get to know me before
they prejudged me. This problem still exists in schools and all around the
world.
Prejudice
is sometimes difficult to avoid because it is natural by human nature to
subconsciously judge a person by the first impression. It bothers me that
people are like this. Ever since we were young, we have always been told to
“never judge a book by its cover,” but we still do. We usually never even end
up reading the book because we convince ourselves beforehand that the book will
not be enjoyable. The truth is that the cover doesn’t tell us anything about
the book. The cover doesn’t reveal the entire story, or there would be no
purpose of the book. The cover is just like any other page of the book. We must
read the entire book to fully understand the story.
Everyone is
unique. Our lives are twisted and different from the people around us. We are
like the characters in a big story. It usually takes time to actually get to know
and understand the characters in this big book of life. There is no possible
way that we can know everything about a person before we meet them because a
lot of the things people say aren’t true. If we take the time to actually get
to know each person as an individual and come to understand him or her, then we
may not prejudge as much. By looking for the good in people, we look at them as
a person. We look at their integrity, desires, interests, talents, and
experiences. We must listen to others. We must let them share their feelings
with us, and not be afraid of judgment. This is how we can truly get to know a
person, and not by the outfit they wore that day.
I am now a
senior in high school. I have been through the highs and lows on this
rollercoaster that we call life. I have worn the pink outfits and the skirts to
school, but I have realized that this is not me. I am the tomboy that everyone
knows. I love sports, and I find it most comfortable wearing my tennis clothes
with sweatpants to school. I am a person who looks far past the outside
appearance and behaviors of other people. I choose to be myself, and I choose
not to judge others for being themselves.
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