What do people think when they look at someone sitting by themselves in the lunchroom? Do they assume they’re lonely? Do they know his parents died when he was 12? Yet they still judge him because of the way he looks. What do people see when they look a me? Do they see my passion for art? Do they see that my week has been awful? Humans immediately come up with an opinion the second they see someone. It is extremely hard to let that opinion go and dig a little deeper to find out more about the person. I’m guilty of it myself, first day of 6th grade I still remember those shoes. The way he walked around like he was all that, but somehow we got placed together in Social Studies and started talking. If it weren’t for that damn seating chart I might’ve never met my best friend.

We act differently around people when we first meet them, we don’t start to open up until we really trust them. The fear of being judged haunts us. That isn’t going to change, it’s how we are wired, judging is in our veins whether we like it or not. What we can change is what we do with it, we can choose to be like everyone else and let that opinion cloud our vision. Or we could become an outcast, take a chance, find out who they really are, not just who we think the are. This takes real courage, stepping out of our comfort zones. Obviously when you first meet someone they aren’t going to pour their heart out on you. That can take months and sometimes even years. Once you find that connection it’s a special one, a relationship built on trust and a lifelong friendship you might’ve passed on if you didn’t take a chance. Everyone is capable of looking a little further, but not many people do. I can’t explain it and I can’t change the way people act but if one person takes that chance, I think they would be very glad they did.

The more friends that move to different schools or even worse, different states I find myself thinking about this. I keep losing friends left and right and of course we are still friends but it isn’t the same. The fact we just don’t see each other enough and we are growing apart is a hard pill to swallow. I still care for them and wish it could go back to the way it used to be. The fact of the matter is, it’s missing the aspect that made the friendship so meaningful. These are the people that I’ve poured my heart out on, and they’ve always been there for me. I need that. Some might call it a shoulder to cry on, but I would call it brotherhood. I know they will always be there for me and that we will always be brothers through thick and thin. Those are the people I am going to tell my kids about. Even when we go off to college, when life throws us in different directions, we will always be brothers. If I take a judgement and put it in my back pocket I might find a new brother. Someone I thought I would dislike, someone I falsely accused.