Every day, teens as well as adults experience prejudice due to religion, sexuality, social class, age, appearance, or even those they call friends. Everyone deals with prejudice at some point in big or small ways, and some are abused or even killed because of their perceived differences. Hopefully, someday we will be able to stop this hatred and prejudice.

Recently, my sister was driving my older sister and me home from high school. Hungry, we decided to go to a sub shop, part of a nation-wide chain, and get sandwiches to take home. My older sister only had a $100 bill she had been given as a gift from our grandmother, so we asked if they would take the bill. The worker said yes and my sister waved us into the store. We ordered our food and went to the register, staffed by a different lady. We handed her the bill and she told us she could not take it. We were confused! My sisters and I stood there for 15 minutes while they yelled at us. They told us they get counterfeit money all the time and it wasn’t about to happen again. My older sister drove home while we waited with the food. She returned with smaller bills, paid for the food, and we all walked out of the store, stunned. We had just been accused of having counterfeit money!

This is an example of one of the many prejudices that happen because of an individual’s age and appearance. I hope that people across the nation recognize some of these prejudices and prevent them from hurting another’s feelings.