I have always known that you should respect everyone until they give you a reason not to. Everyone has a different story and background and you never know what someone is going through, the only person you truly know is you. College has taught me really fast how privileged I am and blessed I am to be where I am today. It has also taught me, that I have no idea what some of the students I pass on the sidewalks go through every single day of their lives. When you wake up in the morning, do you ever think about how your day would be different if you were someone else? What if you were a different ethnicity, gender, economic class, religion, etc. all these different parts that make up YOU and who you are, how would your situations throughout the day end up better or worse?
When you think about this world and how diverse it is, it’s a beautiful thing how so many differences can all live in the same place. So many different passions, talents, smiles, interests, skills all different and make up a beautiful human being. No two people are the same, and this is what’s so amazing to me. I think we forget sometimes, that we all have the same organs, bones, and blood in our bodies. That we all come from somewhere, and started from the same place, no matter what you believe. The things that make us different should be celebrated. How boring of a planet would this place be if everyone was identical in every shape and form?
There are so many unique passions that fuel the fire in individuals, that we need to make this world go around. We need to want to change the world and every person is important in this. The reality is, we need everyone in this together. We need to stop pointing fingers at one another, get our hands dirty, and work together to live out the name as, “The Land of the Free.’’ No, you will not agree with everyone, you will come across some ideas that won’t blend with yours and that’s okay. But to allow someone’s identity decide your opinion on them before even having a conversation, then that’s a problem. We all need the same essentials to live, we all have a heart to love, and we all have a story. Don’t just read the cover, sit back and read chapter after chapter. We say all the time how bad we want change, but hate what we have to do in order to get there.
First step to making this place how we want it? Thinking about what it would be like to be in that person’s shoes. The second we become empathetic of each other, the sooner we will live in an accepting society. We need to understand that in order to be successful together we need to learn to live with each other. So before shutting someone down, shut up, and think about how it would feel if that were you. We need to understand that the different opinions, views, backgrounds, is what we can use to drive this country up, rather than tear it down. Collaboration is key in this process. It shouldn’t take a national disaster to bring out the “American” in us, we should already have that.
