Prejudging. It’s something we all frequently do without even noticing.

From the moment I look at someone, I try to decipher what type of person they are. Not just by observing the way they look, but by the way they speak, dress, and how they carry themselves. A certain amount of prejudgment is required for survival as we determine if someone is trustworthy, honest, and reliable. 

It’s especially a necessity for me since I’m not a very social person. I try to make the right friends and stick with them because not everyone is genuine. 

 The majority of the time, my assumptions about people are right, but hearing people’s assumptions about me blows my mind because most of the time they’re way off. I can’t count how many times people have told me that they thought I was bougie, stuck up, “white washed”, or mean until they actually got to know me. 

Typically, when I’m observing someone’s personality, it is never really negative, unless you’re the girl who’s loud for no reason at 7:55 AM or one of the boys who can’t take no for an answer. That gets annoying. 

When I say that I tend to prejudge I don’t mean snap judgments based solely on the color of their hair, their race, or any other things that are purely physical characteristics. I believe appropriate prejudgment comes from observation and gathering evidence before coming to a conclusion. Here’s a little extra advice for everyone: don’t just force yourself into a friendship, or any relationship,just because you’re lonely. The right people will naturally come to you, so observe first and see if they are a good fit for your life.

Now back to people prejudging me. If you know me, you know that I’m not much of a talker (unless we’re close), so I’ve always wondered how people I’ve never even talked to have an opinion on me. 

Sometimes I even question MY opinion on people because I don’t always know them personally. It’s hard to judge someone if they don’t show much about themselves, yet people always seem to make their way around that and still muster up their negative opinions. 

On the other hand, I do believe in justified judging. I can’t stress this enough, I absolutely despise people that rudely accept compliments, like when a girl is complimented and she says “I know” or  just looks at you. At that point, I take my compliment back. 

I also hate the type of girls that feel entitled to public spaces. They just stand in the doorway and then get upset when someone walks through the door. Or they’re recording a video and someone has to walk by so they can get to class,  but the people recording catch an attitude. Those are the type of people that deserve to be negatively prejudged, everyone else is cool.  

So, why do we judge people when we know nothing about them? Why laugh at their situation when you don’t understand how they feel?  

We all make judgments every day as we walk through the halls, sit in class, or go to the mall, but jumping straight to something negative without basing it on any evidence at all is just unfair.