This world is full of hatred and disgust. More often than not, we see people speaking out against other cultures, religions, races, beliefs, and so many other aspects that divide us yet makes us the people we are today. These disbeliefs and conflicting views have caused arguments and wars, along with travesty and murders throughout countries and the people who inhabit them.
My dad is Catholic and my mother is Lutheran. While I was growing up, I was raised Lutheran. We went to church (almost) every Sunday and my sister and I attended Sunday school every time my family went to church. I was baptized and confirmed a member of the Lutheran church, and although I do not practice my religion (even though I definitely should be based on my wild decision making), I stand by what I believe in and accept my views.
The middle school that I attended was racially mixed. Although I cannot remember the religious status of most people or the financial status of the people I attended school with, I do remember having a widely diverse set of people when it came to race. We were all different but within the same community, so to me, this was nothing different. My family is white, but my parents have never been the ones to tell me who I can and cannot be friends with based on race, religion, class, and so on.
After my family moved in the summer of 2009, I started attending a high school that was predominantly white, along with the community as a whole. This is something that never bothered me nor did I really notice until people began bringing it up. To me, race is just your race. To me, the color of your skin is the color of your skin. I do not believe that the color of someone’s skin defines a person nor would it make me think differently of a person.
Unlike high school, college was a completely different story. Michigan State University is full of different races. Not only is my school full of different races, there are different cultures, beliefs, clubs, religions, majors, minors and so many different contributions to life and personality. Although there are some 45,000 undergraduates alone at this university, we are all different in so many ways, but we share one thing. We are Spartans attending an amazing university with thousands of amazing people and opportunities.
Within the past couple of years, I began hanging out with more and more Jewish people. A lot of people that I see today do not understand the Jewish population, their religion, or even their different habits in life (an example would be being Kosher). I, for one, have seen nothing but welcoming and open-armed people who want to be friends with the people they can be friends with. I do not only look at this category of people as “the Jewish kids,” I look at them as great friends that have done nothing but be nice to me and welcome me to hang around them despite my Christianity—or any of my beliefs for that matter.
I guess the point of my story is that we need to stop with all the hate. Instead of limiting ourselves to a specific group, I feel as if more and more people need to open their horizons and work towards being friends with any one they can. It is hard growing up in a world where hate surrounds a handful of what we know. There are riots, fights, and murders happening across the world. We need to put the hate aside and join together to stop the people who cause so much hatred. Instead of fighting, we need to love the people next to us. With that, we can make this world such a happier and safer place for all to walk across. So before you judge those different from you based on their skin color, or based on the turban they may wear around their heads or the religious status they hold, get to know them instead of knocking them down.
