Adrian+L’s+Final+AmEx+2015+Speech


 * "Don't Judge a Book by its Cover" **

Whether you know it or not, you have already made judgements about me. Your brain constantly makes judgements about other people based on what they say, what they look like, what they are wearing; everything that you think could possibly be analyzed about a person and more is being processed through your brain. The thing about all these analyses is that they can cause premature judgements about others. The brain makes snap judgments about people to see if they look trustworthy or not before they even say one word. People judge others based off of what they look like, or what they hear about that person, or what their beliefs are. All these judgments come together and determine whether you like that person or not, without actually getting to know who the person is. I’m positive that everyone in this room is guilty of disliking someone before even getting to know them, and I want to see this change.

Don’t judge a book by its cover. I’m pretty sure everyone has heard this saying before, and I believe everyone should follow it. If a book does not have a title that is appealing to you or the book doesn’t look captivating enough for you, you shouldn’t put it down, and refuse to read it. The cover of a book only displays a miniscule portion of what the book is about, and it should not determine if it is a book that you like or dislike, it’s the content of the book, what’s inside that should make or break your decision. I do not want to grow old in an America where people dislike others simply due to their beliefs or their appearance. A person should not be defined by what they look like, what they believe in, or how they dress. A person should be defined by their quality of character. From my own experiences, there have been countless cases where I initially did not like someone, and slowly grew fond of them as I got to know them better, and this has happened every time. Looking back on it, all the hostility and dislike I had towards certain people distorted my views on them and prevented me from truly getting know them. I want you to think about someone you don’t like and then consider how well you actually know that person. Can you can tell me anything about them, besides the things that you dislike? There are some exceptions, but chances are you do not truly know this person, and that you barely know anything else besides the fact that he or she is feminist or anti-feminist, homosexual, or homophobic, Christian or Atheist, or whatever it is that causes your aversion towards this individual.

I have a friend, let’s just say his name is Greg. Greg in my opinion is narrow minded; he thinks his beliefs are the only ones that are right and everyone else’s beliefs are not. Greg, furthermore, makes loathsome comments about someone based on what he or she believes in if it does not fit into his own beliefs. More specifically, Greg is narrow minded about feminism; he believes all feminists are selfish and are trying to overpower men, but I've known Greg for many years, and I know that if I introduced him to the feminists I know without ever saying they were feminists, he would get along with them. This is what I feel is a large issue in today’s society. People should not be looked down upon, treated differently, or thought of differently due to how they classify themselves. I am a skateboarder, and you wouldn’t think that something as simple as skateboarding would cause someone to be treated differently. However, I have been discriminated against, yelled at, verbally threatened, and physically assaulted for riding a skateboard. The group of guys that I skate with are some of the most nice, loving, and friendly people I have ever met, but we are stereotyped as being druggies, punks, ignorant, belligerent, and other names that are not school appropriate. Almost everything is stereotyped by people because it’s in our nature to simplify things into categories and correlations, which is not inherently bad. It is when these stereotypes incite bad decisions and create animosity that stereotypes become a bad thing.

Many people are not open to a new idea or another person’s view, which hinders their ability and willingness to see a person for who they are instead of what they believe in. I know that it’s not possible for people to stop judging each other, or for everyone to get to know each other before they come to the conclusion that they like or dislike someone, but we can start by being open minded, respectful, and considerate of what others believe in or how they express themselves. We can start by standing up for those who are discriminated against. We can start by being conscience of the judgements we make. We can start by treating others the way we want to be treated. And through these simple things, we can change America from a country halted from progress and peace because of narrow minds into a country where people are accepted despite their beliefs or classifications or what they look like, into the America I want to grow old in.

**Source:** "Our Brains Judge a Face's Trustworthiness-Even When We Can't See It." Our Brains Judge a Face's Trustworthiness-Even When We Can't See It. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 June 2015.