Judging other people seems to be built into human DNA. That means that, to quit, we’re all going to have to make a concerted and continued effort to remind ourselves that how other people dress, talk, and generally live their lives has no bearing on our own.
It’s none of our damn business.
And if you need more of a reason to do your best to change the way you think about others, check out this Twitter thread.
Part 1
I had this girl in my class and she was considered to be like REALLY DUMB. She’d ask a ton of questions in class, which everybody would consider to be “stupid"and “silly” and even the teachers would often taunt her but she’d never stop asking.
— baileyanastas (@baileyanastas) October 23, 2019
Part 2
The weirdest thing was that she’d almost always ace the class exams and everyone was like???? Even the teachers thought she was cheating because she wasn’t so ‘smart’ in class. But nobody could prove that she was actually cheating…
— baileyanastas (@baileyanastas) October 23, 2019
Part 3
I’m pretty introverted so I never really talked to her, but she was leaving school this year and I was genuinely curious about how she did so well on exams and how she didn’t let everyone’s remarks and doubts affect her.
— baileyanastas (@baileyanastas) October 23, 2019
Part 4
She always used to sit and hang out with only one girl, and she told me that that friend of hers was severely socially anxious and had difficulty in class because she couldn’t bring herself to ask questions or ask for help from others. I’ve felt that way before myself…
— baileyanastas (@baileyanastas) October 23, 2019
Part 5
So they had this system where during lectures her friend would write down any question she had, and she would ask them for her. And I was just so touched??? Idk but it really changed the way I looked at people…
— baileyanastas (@baileyanastas) October 23, 2019
Part 6
This girl endured taunts and accusations and borderline bullying for being “stupid” when she was actually really smart and could easily have refused to ask questions for her friend but she did?? And brushed off everything others would throw at her for her friend??
— baileyanastas (@baileyanastas) October 23, 2019
Part 7
Do you have friends like this? I hope you do. I think it’s so important to have support from people who don’t shame you for your shortcomings, who help you during hard times and don’t embarrass you or leave you hanging, even if they could. And trust me, most people could.
— baileyanastas (@baileyanastas) October 23, 2019
It’s basically a reminder that we literally never know what a person has endured to get to the point where we see and interact with them. We don’t know what happened to them as a child, or what they overcame that morning to make it this point.
It might be nothing. It might be everything.
Talk to people.
And you know, I hope each and every one of you has a friend like this. 🙂