Don’t judge people.
Every single human being is going through life dealing with and experiencing different situations.
That girl who ended up pregnant at 16 may not be “the kind of girl” you think she is.
Have you ever thought about what that girl has been through that made her act the way she does?
That class clown who you dislike so much because he always interrupts with his stupid remarks? Maybe he just likes the attention.
Or maybe he lives in a dysfunctional family and feels lonely and one way he feels affection is by getting people’s attention, good or bad.
How about that girl who always is quiet and hardly ever interacts with others?
You may think she’s weird or that she tries to socialize but fails every time.
But maybe, just maybe, she is totally OK with being quiet and doesn’t feel the need to express every emotion she has.
My point is that when you meet somebody, you don’t know what that person has been through. Unless you get his or her side of the story, don’t judge them.
But here is the ironic part: we should not judge people, and yet I believe we will be judged the rest of our lives.
And yes, I admit it; I sometimes criticize people without knowing them.
But then, who hasn’t? Watching a rich kid and thinking, “This poor rich kid does not know what life really is,” has crossed my mind but then, who knows what he truly feels and believes?
In my own experience, I had my daughter at 18 and although it’s not as young as 14 or even 16, I have felt judged because of it, especially because I am a single mom.
I felt judged because of the fact that people would say having a child at such a young age will only hold me back and prevent me from having a career.
Now I know that instead of being an obstacle in my life, my daughter has become the center of it.
I don’t care if people talk otherwise; I really don’t.
Life has exposed me to situations that required me to toughen up and grow up because that was the only way to keep going.
Every person takes problems a different way, and unless you’ve been in a situation like that or a very similar one, mind your business.
You see where I am, but you don’t know what it took me to get there.
You have not been in my shoes and therefore have no idea what I had to put up with.
Don’t judge me.
Have thoughts on this column?
Email Alma at
abustamante24@
amarillocollege.com
Leave a Reply