Throughout my life I have grown into my own philosophy of how to live and what is really worth living for. As a child I was constantly teased and ridiculed for my differences (much like everyone else), be it the way I talked, dressed, walked, the manner in which I carry myself, the people I chose as friends, and even my definition of who I am was always targeted.
However, I chose not to let anyone else define who I am and to leave that up to me and God to decide.
Definition of one's self should be left to that person to decide in whatever fashion they see fit, but today it seems more prevelant to live life between the narrow lines that society has drawn in order to evade suspicion or judgement and that is not living to me. I decide how to define my relationship with people, I decide how and who I interact with. I define how I love and to which standards to hold the people I let into my heart. I decide my own definition to the various parts of who I am and what makes me (in lew of sounding clichè), ME.
I want to believe that my children will live in a world where people just simply lived life without worrying about how others choose to live theirs. A world void of social judges and juries who would deem them outcasts for just being different or label them by the company they choose to keep.
The most ignorant phrase I had ever heard is that "if you steal, you'll kill" automatically associating one act with another, I know people who have stolen before and killing is not in there character.
I used that phrase because we seem to take that attitude with people in regular everyday situations, I was told once by a peer of mine in high school that I shouldn't hang with certain friends because of their indulgence in "herbal stimulation" or another friend because of their sexual preference to avoid rumor and like a young fool I did, but did I escape rumor?
Hell No...
I was approached by not only by law enforcement but teachers about a rumor they had heard of me selling and doing drugs, mind you I had already cut any persons who might have been involved with that stuff out of my life, yet and still it did nothing.
That among a plethora of other instances and rumors have helped me realize that assumption is the true ignorance of man. That failure to get to know a person and understand that person's view has caused many confrontations and in some cases war. Assumptions have left deep scars that are difficult to cope with in many people including myself. I have been outcast, bullied, ridiculed, and passed over due to assumptions. I have hated (myself and others), cried, lost friends, and fought for the same reason.
Many of my tears could've been avoided if my persecutors would've only took the time to understand me, and I am just one example of this. Think about the countless others who cry the tears I once did or fought the bully that once loomed over head as a child. The countless lives that could have been spared by sitting down and understanding one another. I am one to never shy away from taking up arms to defend myself but there will always be a time for understanding as there will be a time to throw down.
Assumption, to me, is a bi-product of fear and to qoute Master Yoda of the Jedi order, "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering."
Not knowing something is admittedly frightening even for me but taking that step to learn and understand can take humanity a step further away from self destruction.
I may sound crazy to those who read this but this is how I see things. Definitions give meaning to meaningless, it fills voids and gives people purpose.
At least that's my definition of a definition anyways...
However, I chose not to let anyone else define who I am and to leave that up to me and God to decide.
Definition of one's self should be left to that person to decide in whatever fashion they see fit, but today it seems more prevelant to live life between the narrow lines that society has drawn in order to evade suspicion or judgement and that is not living to me. I decide how to define my relationship with people, I decide how and who I interact with. I define how I love and to which standards to hold the people I let into my heart. I decide my own definition to the various parts of who I am and what makes me (in lew of sounding clichè), ME.
I want to believe that my children will live in a world where people just simply lived life without worrying about how others choose to live theirs. A world void of social judges and juries who would deem them outcasts for just being different or label them by the company they choose to keep.
The most ignorant phrase I had ever heard is that "if you steal, you'll kill" automatically associating one act with another, I know people who have stolen before and killing is not in there character.
I used that phrase because we seem to take that attitude with people in regular everyday situations, I was told once by a peer of mine in high school that I shouldn't hang with certain friends because of their indulgence in "herbal stimulation" or another friend because of their sexual preference to avoid rumor and like a young fool I did, but did I escape rumor?
Hell No...
I was approached by not only by law enforcement but teachers about a rumor they had heard of me selling and doing drugs, mind you I had already cut any persons who might have been involved with that stuff out of my life, yet and still it did nothing.
That among a plethora of other instances and rumors have helped me realize that assumption is the true ignorance of man. That failure to get to know a person and understand that person's view has caused many confrontations and in some cases war. Assumptions have left deep scars that are difficult to cope with in many people including myself. I have been outcast, bullied, ridiculed, and passed over due to assumptions. I have hated (myself and others), cried, lost friends, and fought for the same reason.
Many of my tears could've been avoided if my persecutors would've only took the time to understand me, and I am just one example of this. Think about the countless others who cry the tears I once did or fought the bully that once loomed over head as a child. The countless lives that could have been spared by sitting down and understanding one another. I am one to never shy away from taking up arms to defend myself but there will always be a time for understanding as there will be a time to throw down.
Assumption, to me, is a bi-product of fear and to qoute Master Yoda of the Jedi order, "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering."
Not knowing something is admittedly frightening even for me but taking that step to learn and understand can take humanity a step further away from self destruction.
I may sound crazy to those who read this but this is how I see things. Definitions give meaning to meaningless, it fills voids and gives people purpose.
At least that's my definition of a definition anyways...
