To Judge Or Not To Judge

Truth time, how many of us can honestly say we have never pre-judged someone based on their physical appearance? My hand is up, how about you guys? If you say no, then let me be the first to commend you on being one of the very rare gems of our society. Judgments come so easily, we are all raised with certain prejudice or ideas if you will, about others that are often hard to break. It is these ideas that we have, these preconceived notions we conger up that cause us to judge others. I am not saying it is right by any means, what I am saying is it is understandable. I understand why people judge others; I understand how easy it is to let the opinions and experiences of other people influence us. I know what it feels like to be judged and frankly it sucks. To have someone determine your abilities based solely on your appearance is a horrible, annoying feeling. As I have matured over the past few years my judgmental tendencies have decreased greatly. It was not easy; I mean geez thinking for myself is hard work! =) It is however the right thing to do, I do not like when I am judged. I hate when people tell me I can’t do something or expect less from me just because of my appearance. Therefore I try and respect everyone as I would like to be respected. As corny as it sounds it is one of the best mottos, treat others as you wish for them to treat you. No one wants to be judged, its un-fair and often those judgments are very un accurate.
I remember when I first started college I had just turned seventeen, and was starting my senior year in high school. As many instructors do on the first day, my instructor had us each stand up and introduce our selves. After my turn, the instructor felt the need to inform the class that I was the youngest student she had this semester, and how exciting it is that I am still in high school. As you may have guessed this did not seem to impress any of my fellow classmates. A large part of our grade for that class involved group projects, yet I always seemed to be left out during that process. Once I finally found a group to take me in, it was more of a chore to get them to allow me to do something then the actual work itself. I finally had enough when one lady told me that she lead a busy life and the only time she would have to get together and work on our project would be after my bed time, so I should find a different group! I went to the instructor and convinced her to allow me to work alone, she was apprehensive but I was determined. When it came time to present our projects a few weeks later I felt confident in my work. I knew I did my best and that was all I could have done. After I was done I noticed everyone just stared at me, it was a good ten seconds before anyone clapped. I knew at that moment I had shown them that I was in their league, I could keep up and that I deserved to be there. It was a great feeling that night, but I will never forget the way those people made me feel. Their opinions were formed based on my age, none of them took the time to get to know me for the person I am, which is a real shame.