Recently I was looking through some old notebooks of mine and came across the notebook that we used for junior english back in high school. I came across a small insert that despite four years having passed by is still very relevant today. Here is that little spiel but with a few changes added by current me:

Why do we judge others? From the "jocks" to the "loners." The most popular guy with the girlfriend and a significant number of friends could be going through the same hardships as the guy who spends all his time playing video games and only has a few friends. The girl who looks happy and whose life seems successful could be suffering from depression and anxiety.

Teenagers and young adults are taught to be themselves but then they are judged for who they are anyways. Magazines constantly spew out the idea of being body positive but then on the next page there's an article on how to lose weight and have the "perfect body." Then on the other pages is "advice" on how to be to have a perfect life. This has lead to a very demented image of how women and even men should look and even behave. What made society this way? Why do we think this is right? Just because someone is different they can't be popular or be seen as attractive. Who set the rules for what's "in" or "out" in society?

In television shows that focus on high school students, the popular kids are always "jocks" and cheerleaders with amazing clothes and incomparable beauty. Those who are into the arts or gaming are portrayed as outcasts with their interests seen as not cool enough or "lame." This has translated into our own society even with college students. Those who are majoring in art, music or writing are constantly told that they won't succeed, they won't make money or that they won't be able to find a job. The stigma behind a subset of interests has lead to it being deemed not acceptable by society to go into as a legit career.

People automatically assume how someone is personally just by their appearance. They are judged because of how they are labeled by society. Labels and appearance mean nothing in the whole scheme of things. Two seemingly different people could have all the same interests. We all have different purposes so why judge someone because their interests don't match yours or they aren't "attractive?" We're all different and that's what makes us work together.