As you read this I want you to picture the girl I’m describing.

Her nails are painted black and she listens to alternative music. She prefers to spend her time alone. She slides in and out of class as fast as possible and is rarely spotted in public without her headphones in her ears. Her bedroom walls are painted black where she cries herself to sleep some nights.

You have a picture of her in your mind? Try and imagine what her friends might be like and some things they might do together. Maybe you can even put together some outfits from her closet. Got it?

Okay. Now don’t forget her. I want you to keep that image you’ve come up with right there in your mind.

Now, on a blank canvas use your wonderful imagination to picture a different girl. She smiles at strangers and jams out to country music. She laughs when she's with her friends and is also an A+ student. Her hair is always braided back and her favorite color is purple. She talks to her mom on the phone every night. Her favorite place is Disney World.

Can you see her in your mind? Try and imagine the pictures that fill her walls and the people that are in the photos with her. Maybe you can imagine her smile and see her eyes lighting up. You see her?

Now put your two girls together in one place. Sit them next to each other in class or riding the same elevator in a hotel. I want you to create an image of the two girls that I described standing side by side.

When you see these two girls in your mind are they anything alike? Could you see them being friends or being raised in the same household? Would they be able to share a wardrobe?

The answer is yes. Maybe not in your mind but in reality they could and in fact, they do. In the above descriptions I portrayed myself to you both times but in very different ways. Everything I said is true, those are all characteristics that make me who I am. But when you were only given some parts at a time I am near positive you pictured someone else. I encouraged you to picture two separate ladies and now with your imaginary people standing side by side it may seem impossible to make them into one.

In society we only see some parts of most people and we take those judgments to create them in our minds as a whole person. This is human nature. Our brains want to know more so they answer questions on their own. My point is that we are not always right. In fact, most times we are simply wrong. Your assumptions of someone may not always add up to who they really are so never rule somebody out because of the way they dress or the crowd they sit with at lunch. You will never fully know someone until you try and get to know them. The saying is tried and true, don't judge a book by its cover. Hopefully this will open your eyes a little bit to the way you react to the people around you because truthfully, you don’t know everything about everyone.