Prejudging Others | Teen Ink

Prejudging Others

December 13, 2007
By Anonymous

Have you ever misjudged someone? The thing is people don’t come with labels. So you don’t know someone without really getting to know them. I believe that pre-judging people is wrong.

“We just look plane out mean” everyone always used to say. And that’s what I always thought. There was this kid named Toby that dressed in all black and wore big heavy chains, but never a smile. I was always nervous when I went around him. Finally I got up the nerve to talk to him to see if all his thoughts were really about mean dogs and killing things, like everyone thought and talked about. I was shocked as soon as I started to talk to him turns out he was one of the nicest people I have ever met. He just needed a friend. Just because someone looks mean on the outside, doesn’t mean they are on the inside.
But pre-jug people as a habit did not stop there. At a Christian summer camp this year there were a couple of girls that were running around looking like they thought they were better than everybody else. I didn’t know if I should try to talk to then or just keep on thinking about them. Finally I remembered that it was a church camp. So I went up to them and started joking and talking with them and they seemed really nice. Soon all of my friends were talking to them to and now it turns out that we are the best of friends and talk all the time! All we did is give them a chance and they were just as goofy and crazy as me and my friends. One thing I learned from that camp was that you can’t judge a book by its cover.
In my continued journey on learning not to pre-judge people I came along a girl named Sammy. Sammy was one of the quietest girls that you will ever meet. I thought she just didn’t like to apply to herself into having fun. At first I didn’t want to talk to her, because I thought if I did then what if she thought I was weird or what if she didn’t talk back. Finally I built up enough nerve to take the plunge. I found out that I had made the biggest mistake of my ever! Once you get her out of a large group she is just as crazy and fun loving as me and my friends.
I believe that labeling people before you get to know them is wrong. From all of my stories I have learned that I can’t misjudge people. And If I do this it is my los. An apple can have shiny skin on the out side and be nasty on the inside or vise versa. So I always remember next time never to prejudge some one.


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This article has 3 comments.


teachvalues said...
on Jan. 9 2020 at 12:52 pm
teachvalues, Delray Beach, Florida
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment
A simple way to teach about prejudging is by using the symbolism of the moth and butterfly, while one is considered a nuisance, the other is beloved, both belong to the same insect family; Lepidoptera.

Both moth and butterfly serve an important role in our earth- both are pollinators! Yet, we all know, people don't see them this way. Both should be adored!

In the children's' book Fluttering Flights, a fairy named Aeri asks Luke why he saved the butterfly but not the moth, Luke replied that it was "fast thinking." The fairy warns that sometimes "fast thinking" is not good and goes on to teach the kids about the vital role of the moth to the earth.

FYI: Did you know?
There are some 160,000 species of moths in the world, yet only two species eat certain fibers in clothes, the webbing clothes moth and the casemaking clothes moth.

nipun said...
on Aug. 18 2015 at 10:56 am
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Acarb94 said...
on Aug. 18 2015 at 9:57 am
It was a great article to read!!!