This prior week, I had the privilege of listening to a speaker at my college talk about the importance of time and cherishing every moment to a group of incoming freshman. However, before I even sat in on the presentation, I honestly did not think much of the speech I was about to hear—I just anticipated an educational talk explaining the importance of making the most out of every moment in the 4 years of school, especially due to the fact that it was aimed at incoming students. However, what transpired within that speech is something that I will always remember, and something that I now try to carry with me in the back of my mind on a daily basis.

The person giving the speech was a man by the name of Bobby Petrocelli, an extremely outgoing individual with a talent of truly connecting to an audience. Right off the bat, I knew the man had a gift for giving a impactful motivational speech—funny and personable with every individual he spoke to and as time went on in the talk, I could feel myself hanging on every word he said and analyzing the ideas he talked about. And while I found the entire session to be fascinating, it wasn’t until he began talking about passing judgement off on others that I found myself reflecting on all of my own personal struggles.

We’ve all been there—a situation where bullying might be present, a racist remark is made, or someone tells you a story in which their actions and beliefs went against your own personal morals. It’s a sad truth, but I’m sure at some point in that situation you had a negative thought about the individual that was making decisions and/or carrying themselves in a way that contradicted your own beliefs. And whether this thought was fleeting or you it lingered in your mind a little longer than it should have, it was there. Because the truth of the matter is, it is extremely difficult to look at these instances and try to understand the individual before actually judging the situation at hand.

I’m guilty of it too, but once I heard the way Petrocelli presented this topic in his speech and his ideas pertaining to handling these situations, I began to take a little extra notice to the way I viewed these transitory thoughts.

He talked about how every moment in our lives, our childhood, our parents, the environment we grew up in, etc., all have an impact on the type of person we become. That there are in fact deep rooted factors that influence the way that we behave and how we carry ourselves. And while I realized this in the past, I never actually pulled that small tidbit of information out when moments that tested my own beliefs arose. Because to be completely honest, sometimes it’s just easier to categorize people and write them off. It’s easier to go about life living by your own ideals and to ignore those moments that make you angry and confused. But if I have learned anything in life, it’s that taking a route that might be more difficult is what makes you grow as a person and allows you to really appreciate the world around you.

So, I would like to throw a special thank you out there to Bobby Petrocelli for making me question my own stubborn beliefs and for changing my way of thought on an issue that I have struggled with for many years. Also I would like to extend the invitation for everyone to look into the speeches he gives and maybe even find the opportunity to attend one yourself. But most importantly, I challenge all readers to take the time to look at a surface level issue and dig a little deeper to try and understand the situation at hand because we truly never know what someone else might be going through.

Check out one of his speeches here!