Journal #16- Differences

Most people tend to judge others by what they wear and other physical features.  Last school year our school had a very good track team.  I was a member of the distance squad, and we are very different from any other group in this school.  We like to say that we have no shame with who we are, and our two senior captain last year would demonstrate this by wearing short shorts.  It was comical to see other peoples reactions to their clothing chose.  Some people made fun of them, others snickered, while still others complimented them.  They were pretty high up on the social hierarchy of high schoolers, so most people were just joking around.  They were not ashamed of wearing such short shorts, and I admired their self- confidence and their willingness to go against the norm.  Eventually, they got me and Dan into wearing short shorts also, so now we are the ones to carry on the tradition.  I noticed that when I started to wear short shorts, people tended to stare at me more than was usual.  Others do not expect me to change my style, and it was an insecurity that I had to overcome.  After wearing this style of running clothes for almost a year, I am perfectly comfortable with who I am.  When someone suddenly changes their style of clothing, it confuses others.  Many people find comfort or acceptance by wearing a certain style, so changing it up makes them feel insecure.  Most people are quick to judge appearances, so this is another reason why most people are hesitant to change styles.  It is pretty sad that we as humans can be so superficial at times.  We are slow to complements and quick to offending comments.   So next time someone changes his or her style, I will compliment them instead of being quick to judge.