Good Day to All Readers,
In college you meet a lot of different people. And when I say different, I really do mean
different. People will be from different
cities, different states, different countries, and different continents. Although this fact is often overlooked, and
college is never really looked at this way, it’s sort of like a melting pot.
Not only do people with different origins come
together to learn, but people of different economic background, personality
types, religions, educational interests, talents, gifts, resources and general
perspectives on life come together to learn, live, and make up a richly diverse
community.
It sounds beautiful.
And personally, I think it is; however, with the unification of such
diverse individuals, sometimes comes questions and misconceptions. The former, no matter how uncomfortable it
may seem, is always better than the latter.
Here’s a story that I actually lived where this
notion dropped into my soul.
A few months ago, when I was in school, I was
sitting at my desk staring at the wall.
Now, before you start to mentally dismiss me as crazy, think about how
you start to feel when you’ve been doing homework for hours. Okay, back to the story. While staring into space and trying to
refocus on my homework, I heard a very bold statement that brought me back to
full attention.
The statement infuriated me more than anything. It wasn’t a total shock because I had heard
similar statements just weeks before, but none as frank. Someone who had visited my room had confidently
stated that everyone from my area was ignorant as (expletive).
This person is someone who I considered and still do
consider a generally nice and respectable person. However, the post is not about the person,
it’s about the misconception.
When I heard the statement I immediately responded
that I was from the area that was mentioned.
I then began to think of all the family, friends and other people of
importance to me that live there. The
statement was general and probably faceless as well.
When we state and believe the many stereotypes
floating around in the abstract atmosphere of our minds, we often forget that
people we know and see every day may be affected and fall under the category of
what we say/believe. The person did not know that I was from the place being
discussed and explained that the statement was not meant to offend.
Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and choice
of words; however, it would be nice if we took each other into consideration
and/or got to know each other a little better before we let misconceptions take
over our lens on life and people.
Not with
Judgment, but with Suggestion,
Unashamed
Introvertish Girl
0 comments:
Post a Comment