Momma always said

Momma always said "Never judge a book by its cover"
By Victoria Noel

Have you ever been judged for no reason other than your outer appearance? The person or people didn't even get to know you before the verdict came in. For me, I have also been judged and sadly enough I have also worn the robe.

In junior and senior high school, I had a small group of friends, at that time I thought they were friends but I was horribly mistaken in the long run. They judged me for the clothes I wore and even the place I lived, it didn't matter that I came from a great family I still got judged for those things. To this day I believe it wouldn't have hurt so badly if they could have told me to my face instead of talking behind my back.

Unfortunately during this time I too was a personal judge and as a result almost lost out on a good thing. A new girl started at school and nobody really liked her. Other students talked about her behind her back and even laughed at her. Some of these people knew her from her old school; they had mutual friends but most just hated her for no reason.

Sadly I too was guilty of joining in with my friends and passing judgment. She was a loud mouth and bossy and dressed like a tom boy. I sat with my mother one day and told her about this girl. My mothers' advice was simple. "Vicki" she said "never judge a book by its cover; you never know what you might be missing out on." She had never been so right.

The next day I befriended the girl and we became best friends as close as sisters. Although I regret the time I spent passing judgment on her I'm very thankful that she became part of my family. Today we are in our 30's, we have always been close in fact she was the photographer at my wedding and I was with her when she lost her husband to a tragic accident.

But judging doesn't stop after high school. Today's society spends a great amount of time on the high-speed information highway known as the World Wide Web and some even try dating online. People post descriptions and sometimes pictures of themselves. Some lie about what or who they are, others stretch the truth and some are just brutally honest. In actuality how it works if you don't fit into a certain perception, you may not be in their "league".

Just recently I was talking to a friend who had met a "great man" on line. They got along wonderfully and seemed to have so much in common. After talking and getting to know each other, she sent him the picture he requested. It was an older pictures but all she had on her computer. Meanwhile she had already known what he looked like from the downloaded photo he sent. When "Mr. Right" logged on that night, she noticed the conversation was different. He had received her picture and thought she was unexpectedly cute. In fact, he didn't really believe her photo was authentic. He would just have to see for himself when they met.

My friend was judged from a downloaded photo before they ever met in person, but once the outer appearance was out, she was judged again.

First impressions-from one-on-one introductions are easy to make, but before putting on the robe to judge get to know the real person first. Outer appearances can be deceiving. Judging people prematurely can cause you miss out on so much-the world's greatest boyfriend or girlfriend, a best friends or the greatest love of your life. I learned my lesson, I gained the world best friend and the world's greatest love by throwing away my judges robe and seeing people for what they are.

Mom was right. Never judge a book by its cover; you never know what you might be missing.