Judgement

Judgement. You're meeting someone for the very first time and you want to get to know them a little better. You look down and analyze his tattered skinny jeans and dirty Converse sneakers, then up and evaluate the grease-stained t-shirt and black baseball cap. Automatically, you categorize this new acquaintance as a delinquent teenager. He must be the kind of kid who cares little about anyone besides himself and his friends, who vandalizes public property and fails school because he doesn't care enough to try. Already, you have become biased in your opinion of him and lose interest in becoming acquainted. Unfortunately, you may have just written off the smartest, nicest kid in the country and you would never have a chance to find out.

Judging people, particularly based on clothes, hairstyles, or just looks in general, is a devious trap that almost everyone falls into easily, including myself. After attending a school with uniforms, I've come to appreciate them a lot more than I thought I might before. Uniforms help to eliminate the initial bias and judgement, so I can get to know someone based on personality. I might become friends with someone who's into punk music, scary things and black clothing, although if I saw them walking through the mall in their all-black outfit, I would steer clear. Why wouldn't I? It seems like we'd have nothing in common and could never possibly be friends, based on her outfit. She probably thinks I am an average preppy girl, who dreams in cartoon and who seems to have skipped out of a Disney movie, because of my jewelry, pink headband and 'I <3 JUSTIN BIEBER' shirt. The situation is completely altered.

I totally believe that we should express ourselves and embrace our differences, but through our actions, not our shoes.