Being judged is like being put into a copy machine to be scanned. You don't know how it feels until the moment it happens. It can happen once, twice, or more than enough. But one thing remains certain. It never feels good.

Growing up, I have encountered being judged several different ways. First, I was usually judged for being shy. Not being self-confident has always been a minus to me and how I encountered people and my life. I would always have the habit of thinking twice before doing something, instead of just going for it. Little did I know how this would hurt me, more rather than help me in any type of way. I never wanted to be shy, but for some reason my eyes would always find their way to the floor, when someone started speaking to me.

I was also judged for being too quiet. I never intended to be quiet in any sort of way, but that's the way I was throughout high school. I would develop the habit of only speaking, if spoken to. I oftentimes would just be in my own world, where I would doodle and make small notes and drawings in a notebook that I brought around with me.

But judging is never the answer. It is only a mistake. We shouldn't judge to find answers about someone. Rather, we should just get to know them and who they are. No one wants to make mistakes. Everyone wants to find answers to what they are curious about. I often compare the act of judging to picking out a dress for a party or a formal event. You can say all you want about how the dress looks from the outside, but you don't fully know how it is, until you actually try it on. I figured out people are the same way. There are many different types of people and we can't put assumptions on who they are, until we get to know who they are. You don't want to mistake a super pretty dress for something else based on what you have only seen from the material or the price tag on it. The price tag and what the material is made out of, shouldn't stop you from getting to know the dress and how it fits.

I have been judged, but I will not judge. Being judged on is something that has happened to me, but it is not something I will do to others. My aunt has taught me from a young age that it is important to not take vengeance on someone for something that they did. Fighting back isn't always the answer. People can throw as much hate and negativity towards my dress as much as they want, but that won't stop the dress from being bought by a wearer who takes pride in who I am/how the dress looks/

I used to have the fear of being judged, but now that fear has come to an end. A new chapter has begun, where any judgement cannot prevent me from finding my inner sequins. I might always be a dress, waiting to be bought by different wearers, but that doesn't mean I have to fear what they will say about me. I am not there to be torn apart, but there to be accepted and bought by a wearer. They don't know what they are saying about me, until they have gotten to try me on.