Everyone has seen guys elbowing each other in the hall and calling each other fags, or watched girls giggle and say “you are such a slut.” In some cases those terms aren’t meant to be hurtful, yet in other cases the use of those words can destroy lives.

I’ve always believed that the world isn’t black or white. People are put in different situations in their lives in which the choices they make may not be right or wrong.  Most of us live in an incredibly privileged community. Most children and even some adults in the district are not exposed to or could even fathom the idea of people being different from them. So when people are different, they are often labeled. I have often spoken with friends who have referred to people as “the muslim”, or “that black kid”, “the slutty girl in eight period” or even “that pothead.” People just can’t seem to get past these labels.

More than 121 million people all over the world have some form of depression. It is terrifying for me to know that someone’s words could have such a huge impact on a person’s life. Depression, bullying and self harm can lead to thoughts of suicide. 1 young adult (15-24 year old) dies by suicide every 2 hours and 12 minutes. For every dead teenager at least 100 others have attempted suicide. People are entitled to their own view, but are certainly not entitled to destroy other people’s lives and self esteem.

This doesn’t mean somebody has to wear a “Support Gay Marriage” or “It’s Always 4:20 Somewhere” shirt, but being a avidly closed minded human can make you tactless and immature. Life extends so much farther beyond the boundaries of our school. You will have to meet and work with people from all walks of life that are completely different from you. It’s vital that you learn to accept that early on. It’s difficult to achieve the same perspective as another person because

you can’t live exactly like them. Labeling people with words like “slut”, “fag”, or “pothead” puts up a wall around them. Those words can shield all the wonderful things about that person leaving people unable to see past the wall those words build.

There is no way to build a perfect person. If you take only one thing away from this article then remember these words: You can’t change anybody. People are born a certain way and no matter how much you desire to change them, you can’t. You can’t claim to care about someone and then pick them apart, and shape them to who you want them to be. Friend, family member, boyfriend, girlfriend, teammate, it doesn’t matter who it is. It’s one thing to care about someone, but you can’t force someone to not be themselves.They are who they were born to be.

My favorite psychologist, M. Scott Peck once said, “Share our similarities, celebrate our differences.” Judgment won’t change the fact that someone has a certain religion, skin color, belief, opinion, taste, or habit. It’s great to find things in common, but it’s better to learn about others and enjoy them for who they are as you will find very few people in this world who are exactly like you. Growing up isn’t just responsibility,

freedom and taxes, it is also the ability to accept and work with people who are completely different than you. Differences don’t define us, they build us. The world is very big. There are a whole lot of people out there. Some of them you may like, and some of them you really won’t, but learning to tolerate and not label people’s differences will help you to conduct yourself with others in a manner that is respectful and open minded.