As it were...

Sometimes the perception we have of the people we interact with on a daily basis can evolve into something else.  Something unexpected.

We live day to day making associations based on preconceptions that we build over the course of our lives, applying them to each relationship--good or bad--that we develop with others.  If we can get past how we perceive people and their attached personalities, we could take a step back to understand that everyone is the same.  Everyone is who they are based on their experiences throughout their lives.

People--not all people--judge each other on these preconceived notions. We as a people have it all figured out. We think we've seen it all and that there are no surprises. As a person, I've been on the end of that kind of judgement.  I was angry.  I didn't understand how someone could just look at or hear me and decide what kind of person I am.

Then something happened. I realized that I do the same thing.

I've often made a judgment about a person based solely on the sound of their voice I hear the first words out of their mouth.

Common sense can lead you to some conclusions, and these conclusions lead to stereotypes. We use stereotypes because, people--in general--are lazy. By allowing these blanket observations to dictate how we deal with other people, we are letting the people who originated these ideas to control us.

I'm not allowing that anymore.