Judgement is defined as when someone makes an assumption about you based on your actions or words. Growing up I have always cared about how I would look to people and my reputation. I would always base my actions on how people would react to it and what I did. I used to want to run away and hide if I made a mistake and I knew I would get made fun of or mocked for it. I can know say that I am embarrassed for caring so much because to be honest the only thing that matters is how you think of yourself and your allowed to make mistakes. I still care but I see that it’s not the most important thing. Friends, family and good times is what’s important. Doing what you need to do and becoming the person who you want to is important.

In my 20 years, I have been judged for making mistakes as little as saying a word wrong to as big as being with the wrong person at a party. Judgement is part of life and you know what that is never going to change but what can change is how you see yourself and how you handle judgement. I have heard praise and insults and sometimes you have to really think about which one’s you take to heart. I have been called smart and been told that someone’s really proud of me but I have also been called names and been mercifully made fun of. I take praise to the heart and the insults hear I use as motivation.

As someone who knows what it feels like to be judged before someone ever meets you just by stories or what they see, I ask you to think before you make a snap judgement or before you even talk to the person. Get to know them before you make them feel like they are being scrutinized. People have emotions and they can get easier hurt than a person thinks. This is not about being over sensitive, this is about just being a genuinely kind person. You never know about their past or what they have been through. You never know even how their day has been so one judgment could make or break the day or even a month.

As the holiday season comes upon us, think. You never know someone’s story or what they have gone through. You never know how much they hurt or how what you do and say could really affect them. Actions have consequences and sometimes you regret something or feel bad and no one should be judged based on regrets because I can bet the person doing the judging has plenty of regrets too. The holiday season is the time to think about others and be a genuine good human being. It is time to be caring and to truly reflect on the past year and reflect on the past.

I may have made some mistakes but I have accomplished so much more than I could of imagined. I have done so much that I thought I could never have done. I have lived on my own twelve hours from home for over a year. I have worked hard in school and succeeded. I have made friend and long lasting relationships. I have liked, loved and lost people but it has affected me and made me look at life in a different way. Be thankful for what you have and when you think about making a judgment based on what you heard, saw, or even saw in a picture, think. Think about the person and how they will feel. Think about how you would feel if it was you.

It Is time to be judged based on the good things and the good qualities. People are so quick to judge based on the bad they hear but never on the good, how is that fair? Embrace the holiday spirit and see the good through the bad. Think before you want to call someone a name or tell someone something awful you heard about them because what if that was you they were talking about?