Humans

Growing up in a society where your appearance is judged is tough. People take one look at you and decide who you are. You are lying if you have never judged someone because of the way they look. A lot of the times people judge others because it is the way they were brought up/what they are taught. It is your decision to decide what is “right” and what is “wrong”. I recently heard of a phrase that goes, “The first thought that goes through your mind is what you’ve been conditioned to think. What you think next is what defines you” I full-heartedly think this is accurate.

My experience: 

I previously had a whole section of this blog post about my past experience with bullying but I felt it was not so important. In short, I grew up hating my body because people made fun of my height. I felt like a freak and was afraid to talk to people because I never felt accepted. I barely had friends throughout elementary and middle school. Flash forward to my life now. I am 6’2 and 19 years old. Whenever I go out in public 80% of people stare at me or ask me if I play basketball. It happens every. single. time. But you know what? Who cares! I am finally comfortable in my own skin and body. It does not matter what I look like to other people. People come in all shapes and sizes. Life is too short to be worrying about a random person in the grocery store thinking about what you look like.

My thoughts:

When I think about children, teens, and adults who are ridiculed and discriminated by racism, misogyny, ableism, lgbtqia discrimination, body shaming, etc my heart saddens. I am just a privileged, straight, white, and middle class woman who has experienced nothing near the discrimination we see today. I believe kindness can go a long way. Young adults are the future of this world. It is up to us to change this. The way we perceive things will be brought down to our kids and future generations. I hope to see a future where we can look back at our progress and be ashamed of what happened. The younger generations are continuing to have more and more access to technology. This can be be utilized for good or bad. Children and young adults can now read on what is happening in the world today, but they can also spread negativity. To not be affected or care about things like this disheartens me. I often see people say “It’s not my place to have an opinion” or “It does not affect me so I don’t care”. HOW CAN YOU NOT CARE ABOUT PEOPLE’S LIVES AROUND YOU? Put yourself in someones shoes and imagine being shamed or even killed for who you are. Where is the humanism? When will the world see peace? I am thankful for the life I live and appreciate what I have. My small fragment of minor “bullying” or whatever you’d like to think of it as is just a fraction of what goes on in the world today. I am in no way comparing myself to the humans who undergo discrimination daily, but I have experienced being judged like many young people. Remember, people who project racial slurs or discrimination against a person’s religion or sexual identity are not portraying their opinion, they are dehumanizing a person. We are all humans who deserve equality. Don’t let others tell you that you are not important. I think John Lennon’s song “Imagine” shares an important message the world often forgets.

“You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will live as one”

Thank you for reading my short post. Of course, my thoughts go deeper than what is being written. I appreciate anyone who took their time to read this. I’ll be posting more this week.