We all have secrets hidden in the back of our closet. Secrets and stories that maybe we are ashamed of, that are maybe too hard to tell, too close to your heart for anyone else to hear. Maybe you don’t want to look fragile or weak, or maybe you just want to hide some part of you. We are all lockboxes in some way.

Every single person in this world , at this moment, is going through something that you have no idea about. Other than yourself, I guarantee there is something you don’t know about every single person around you. Maybe it’s some little fear or a white lie they are choosing to keep private. Maybe it’s an event or thought that is occuring or continuously occurring and they don't want to tell you. This is that person's decision, and their decision alone.

There are people closest to me that have a big chunk of who I am or was missing simply because that is not who I want them to see me as and no matter how much I trust someone, there are parts of me I will keep hidden, stories I will not tell. Because I have learned this about myself, because there have been times where it has occured to me that no one besides myself even feels this way,

I make the safe assumption that no matter how much of an open book you are, everyone has some pages ripped out.

We live in a judgemental world and the fear of being judged keeps people from sharing who they are or what is happening to them, even if they want to. Every person you see, you automatically make a judgement about. If someone makes a decision you don’t agree with or wears something you think is hideous, you judge it. This is simply human nature and that is okay. The problem arises when people judge before thinking. When people fail to think about why someone might be doing something, we give up our right to form an opinion about anything that happens.

Everyone is going through something you know nothing about and once you learn that, you become a much more empathetic ,understanding person. The hardships we go through are endless. There are people getting abused, dealing with divorce and self harm and death and a million other scenarios. Everyone has a different situation and everyone responds to their situation differently so there is no way we can possibly have one reaction that we apply to each person or each action.

You don’t know the whole story and until you do, you do not have the right to make any judgements about that person or action. In all honestly, the aspect of human nature that makes us look at something and judge is not going to go away but I believe that if we all make a conscious effort to try and understand why someone might be doing something or simply tell ourselves and remember that they could have a million things going on having causation for their thoughts and actions, the world would be a much better place.