In this day and age, you would think that society would have moved on from judging and stereotyping others but it hasn’t. We are all victims of creating our own perceptions of people without knowing anything about them and without knowing their story. We perceive things to be a certain way and we hate to be proven wrong. This is prominent in our perceptions of people such as introverts.

We believe introverts to be shy and antisocial, yet most of them are just the opposite. Introverts are people who can only handle a certain amount of socialization. They feel more comfortable at home alone than in social situations. Yet, if they have to take part in social activities, they are capable of doing so. Stereotyping has become so inevitable, that we fail to realize that by doing so, we are hurting other people. Society has brainwashed us to believe that “they”- the introverts, the gays, and so on – are the problem. Society wants to believe that because of “them”, controversies and arguments arise. We are unable to realize that we are the problem.

We are unable to let go of our criticizing and judgemental selves and just see them as one and the same. It is sad to think that it has gotten to a point where we are practically walking, talking  hypocrites. A society that preaches to love one another exactly for who they are, is in actuality, a society that judges people without even knowing the half of it. We must move on and accept the fact that everyone is different and, in this world, different is okay.

Meghna Thiruvazhi

senior