Ananda

We’re living in a society where I’m judging you and you’re judging me—for my hair, my skin, the way I dress, as if the clothes I wear make me any less. Do any of these things change who I am, or what I am? Yes these factors are a part of me, but to judge me on something so trivial, so inconsequential, is like judging food on the way it looks, judging covers without reading the books.

You’re only going skin deep, ignoring the person underneath. So what if I’m black and white, don’t give me attitude because of my weight or height. What I choose to present isn’t all of me, it’s a fraction of a person I intend to be. I’m not calling you out on your judgment, all I’m questioning are your actions. We are all guilty of many things this being one of them. Seeing people you don’t know and thinking of them sluts, seeing a teen with scarred arms and assuming she cuts. That kid on the bus deep in a book, you don’t say it aloud but you’re thinking nerd, the girl that cries on her own just wants to be heard, but you roll your eyes and walk away, she’s a wuss, doesn’t need help, you can’t deal with this today. If you stop for a moment and rethink your judgment you might learn something valuable, make a friend, fall in love. All you need to do is shove away your preconceptions, your prejudice and the notion that you know someone who you know nothing about.

There are things about all of us that need to be discovered. We don’t carry boards around of who we’ve lost, or keep the pricing of clothes so you know what they’ve cost. We don’t yell from speakers that we’ve been through hell; we just hope one day you’ll be able to tell. On my forehead is not written my existence, my life story, my skills, my persistence. All you can know are the exterior things, the rest is to be discovered. ♦