Judging

    I really wish people would stop judging other people.  This is one of my top pet-peeves and something that drives me up the wall.  So many people are quick to act as though they know everything that is going on with everyone else’s life.  In my opinion, this stems from being insecure about something in their personal life.  When you are insecure about your own life, you tend to want to find things wrong in other people’s lives in order to make yourself feel better.  I feel as though there are people who genuinely want to help others, but that there are also some that do it to make themselves feel good.

    I believe that for the most part, we live in a society that enjoys lending a helping hand to each other.  I am someone who, from time-to-time, needs help from people that I do not know.  Most people are very quick to see my situation and help me out.  Other people want to give me too much help when I don’t need it.  Normally, I do not mind this because I know that they are just trying to be nice and helpful.  However, when someone does do this, it makes me wonder whether other people see me as someone who needs help.  I do not want to be seen as a helpless person because in reality, I do almost everything that I need to by myself.

    Even though I strive to be as independent as possible, there are times when I just need help because I can’t quite do something.  I have found that when I do venture out looking for help, even for something as small as tying my shoe, I get varying reactions.  Some people are quick to help me and do not turn it into a big deal.  Others have looked at me sheepishly or just ignored me completely and walked away.  I honestly completely understand this reaction.  When something different or unexpected occurs in our everyday life, we might tend to get nervous or flustered.  Some people may care too much about what other people will think about them when they interact with different people.

    Independence is one of the most important words to me.  Since I was a senior in high school, I have always strived to do things as independently as possible.  This is not because I am too stubborn to ask for help or care what others will think about me if someone is helping me.  It is because I want to someday live completely on my own.  In order to do that, however, I must be able to do daily things without any help.  Therefore, I must find other, different, ways of doing things that I may not be able to do the way others do.  One thing I have learned to help me do this is to not care what those around me think of me.  Even though I may eat differently or walk differently, I cannot let others who stare or laugh get to me.  The older I get, the more I see that the attention my disability draws l lessens.  I remember as a kid thinking how in the world was I going to go to college or live on my own.  This depressed me greatly. I allowed others to shape the way I thought.  Now, if there is something that I want to do, I just do it.  I wanted to go away to college, and, even though there were setbacks, I did it.