Everyday I am judged, by the things I wear, the people I talk to, the way I act, and the people I’m friends with. The only one of these that I believe I should be judged by is the way I act.
I always wear jeans, a T-shirt, and a black jacket with a skull on it; people think I’m gothic because of what I wear. I talk to almost everyone in the eighth grade so people think I must be two-faced, because all of the people I talk to are so different. When people see my friends they think I’m just another stupid emo girl, because we play around and do things some people might consider stupid. Some of my friends may have done things that were completely wrong, but you shouldn’t judge me by their actions, but by my own.
All of these assumptions are incorrect. I only wear the jacket because it was my sisters who passed away. I’m ashamed of my body, so I wear jeans and a T-shirt. I’m in no way two-faced; I’m just friendly and people like to be around me. The friends that I have also know that I’m very smart. In fact all of my friends’ grades are improving because I push them to do better. I’m a straight A student. Everyday I push myself to be better and if you stopped to get to know the real me, you would find that I’m a good friend to have too.
I believe that prejudice is hurtful and wrong unless you give people a chance to show you who they are first.
Prejudice is seen everyday in schools all over the world. In every school there are cliques of people trying to set themselves apart from everyone else. They tell you, “Your not one of us.” Or, “You should be with people more like you.” Every clique stands for something and works with stereotypes to keep new people out. I think that you should just be able to be you and have friends without having to change to fit in. They may have the same views and feelings as you, but because they don’t wear the same cloths or have the same accent as you they can’t be your friend? That just doesn’t make any sense to me.
If we would change, just a little, like not looking at clothes, but at intelligence or personality, the world change so much. All it takes is a little change to rewire the world from its prejudice state. It may be a difficult change to make, but I think we can do it. The power of change is magnificent. I believe if we tried not to judge people so crudely, we would be way better off.
Prejudice has helped me a lot too. If you judge by actions you can keep yourself away from people that would have a bad effect on you. Prejudice can hurt people’s feeling. Prejudice has driven people away from me, and I have been judged so incorrectly by many people. I have learned that if used correctly prejudice can be a good thing. I use prejudice daily to keep myself safe. Prejudice isn’t bad; the way prejudice is sometimes used is bad. If you give people the chance to show who they are, then prejudice is a great tool to have in life. If we all try to stay away from harsh judging though everyone would have a brighter better day to look forward to instead of a tireless day of judgment.