This I Believe

When I was little, I used to meet people and look at them just as any other person. Then, I grew a little older, and when I met people I would look at them as being a boy or a girl. A few more years passed, and when I would meet people I would see them as boy or girl and black or white. Before I knew it, I was in high school and meeting new people all the time. When I met them, I would look at them, judge them, and put them into mental categories that consisted of boy, girl, black, white, gay, and straight.

Now I am in college and I look upon my life and all of the people that I have met throughout it. I look through the mental categories that my mind subconsciously established and remember all of the people that I have met. What I realize now, is that all of these people, no matter what sex, race, or orientation they have, they are all just people. That’s right, they are all just people.

I often think about why it took me so long to realize this. Sometimes I used to think it was because I am grown up now and more mature then I was back in grade school. But then I look back at when I was really little and how I looked upon everyone as being the same. I asked myself what exactly that could mean and after thinking for a while I stumbled upon a conclusion.

Everyone in this world no matter what the color of their skin, whether they like boys or girls is the same. They are all just people! That is what it all comes down to; judging and categorizing people is a choice that they make. The most important part about it is that it is a choice; which means people choose to view others as being different even though in the end they are not. This is what I believe.