To Be or Not To Be

To Be or Not To Be

Why is it difficult not to care what others think about you?
It is a beautiful day outside and you are a female business executive. You are walking down the street and people are glancing at you. You think to yourself, “what are they thinking?” Well, they might be thinking, “this woman seems rude and arrogant.” Why would they be thinking this? You stand tall with your head up and shoulders back. When in reality, you are not rude and arrogant at all; you are the most kind and considerate person, just confident. Those around you have already judged you.
It is difficult not to care what others think of you. I have heard that it takes just a few short seconds for people to completely judge you. Size you up and down and completely decide what you are like. They will do this without ever even talking to you. Chances are, you do not want people to have a bad or wrong impression of you. You want them to know the real you. Because of this quick assessment and often-wrong preconception, many people are discriminated against just because of the way they look. Many people will look at tall, pretty girl, who carries herself well, and think instantly that she must be popular with many friends. When in fact, she might not. Because of this assumption, they never ask her to do anything. It is difficult not to care what others think about you since many of these judgments lead to various types of discrimination.

Is who you are determined by what others think of you?
In many cases who you are, is determined by what others think of you. I have observed this in many cases, especially in teenagers. Being judged by your peers can be the most intimidating aspect of life and many times affects what and who you become. If people around you expect you to be a certain way, many will start to conform to the expectations of others. François Duc de La Rochefoucauld once said, “We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves.”
It takes a very strong willed person not to conform to others expectations for them. I find that those who embrace their uniqueness and not pass judgments unto others are less likely to conform. I believe in being yourself and surrounding yourself with people who truly care about you for who you are. Unfortunately, many people find that it is easier to change into somebody someone else wants them to be. If all of us took a little time out of our day to realize that there is something special and unique about us, then we might become our true selves and not someone else.

Peace, Love, and Happiness

It was said by Ambrose Redmoon “courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.” This is a prime example of how someone can take their hope and turn it into their strength. There are over 600,000 homeless people in America who are wishing and hoping for a better life not only for themselves, but for their children too. Now, I can’t speak for all of the homeless people, but from many documentaries I have watched, the mothers have been left with the children. The mothers want their children to grow up, get an education, and work for a decent living. Since the mothers hope for this, they will attempt to make a new beginning for their lives. Because of their hope for their children, the mothers are not only making their lives better, but their children’s too. Their lives become better because it forces the mother to work harder and fight for what she hopes for.
Hope isn’t always sunshine, it can be full of rain too. Hope can mislead you. Leonardo da Vinci once said, “Blinding ignorance does mislead us.” This is very true. People can get so caught up in a situation and bad effects happen. A good example of this is when people want world peace badly. They hope that they will be able to achieve peace without resorting to violence. I haven’t done much research, but from my perspective what it comes down to is we basically expect people to drop their beliefs and positions in life and follow one common belief. But there will always be that one person that doesn’t think peace can be achieved without violence. I personally don’t believe in war, but I think there are certain exceptions. I truly believe that we can have peace without resorting to violence, but there are other occasions where war is necessary to maintain peace. I think this war we are in now is necessary because if we weren’t in Afghanistan fighting for our freedom, America would be getting trampled on even more. We would look like a weak country.
All in all, I believe there is more strength in hope than there is misguidance. With hope, people can get through the toughest of situations. When I was in the fifth grade, my grandpa passed away. He had been in the hospital for many weeks and was on a ventilator. I felt in my gut that he was getting ready to pass. I called him up from school and told him that I loved him and how I hoped heaven was going to be a better place for him. I feel that my grandpa felt my hope for him and realized that we love him and will keep him in our hearts forever. Lao Tzu said, “being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”