MAREBEAR

I belong to a Greek dance group at my church.  There are both boys and girls ages thirteen and fourteen.  We meet every Sunday for a two hour practice.  My dance group had been together for three years with no new members.  Last year, a new girl joined our group.  When she walked into the room she looked shy and scared.  She was wearing all black and her hair looked like a bird’s nest.  Her shoes were old and worn and her make-up was way overdone.  The first thought that came to my mind when I saw her was that I would never become friends with this new girl.  I turned to my friend next to me and rolled my eyes.  I whispered “she’s weird,” without hearing one word out of her mouth.  Our director immediately placed her between me and my friend.  I soon discovered that our new member was a great dancer and she was really sweet and nice.  She has since become one of my very close friends.  We would hang out after dance practice every weekend.  I realized that by prejudging a person based on their looks and attire, you can miss out on a lot of fun experiences.  Since then, I have always tried to get to know a person before judging or making comments about them.