What Role Does Your Appearance Play?
Have you ever judged someone by appearance and then found out your assumption was completely wrong? I know I have. On the first day of school, a young man sauntered into my classroom with a massive attitude. He did not greet me, and didn’t speak to me until he was sure everyone knew the star had arrived. At that moment I remember thinking he was going to be a challenge, but I was wrong. He acted that way that day because he was scared and insecure. A teen from a boy’s home in Kentucky was starting a mostly white private school in the Appalachian Mountains. He must have been terrified, and I can tell you that he taught me my first opinion was wrong, and twenty years later I call him son, and he calls me mom.
Most of us have had an experience when we were judged by the way we look before someone looked below the surface. My future daughter-in-law wants to be noticed. Her hair is always brilliant pink or purple, and she is covered with interesting tattoos. When she enters a room people notice. She used an expression I had never heard to describe people’s reaction to her. She said when she entered a restaurant it was a record scratch moment. I laughed because I knew what she meant. That awkward moment when everything becomes quiet, and the attention is focused on you. If they had spoken with her, they would have realized how funny she is, and that she is a talented artist.
We cannot escape our appearance completely. Women will comment about being treated differently, race becomes a factor in many situations, and age and weight are also judged. I wish I had an answer for every scenario, but people can be crazy, so I know my own response is to either let it go, or prove them wrong when the opinion is negative.
