Monday, November 28, 2011 By Lindsey Koon [ArticleImageHyperLink] Advertising You don't know what you think you know Warning: Contains rants not suitable for the sensitive or weak of heart. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Everyone is quick to judge. I know, for a fact, that I tend to judge a book by it's cover. Who doesn't? It isn't fair to judge someone based on the way they appear; but everyone does it. One group of people highly judged: pregnant teens. The teen pregnancy epidemic is on the rise, and as much as I hate to say it, a girl who gets pregnant in high school is quickly judged. Being in my junior year of high school, I have witnessed several teenage girls become pregnant, many of them I know. What sickens me is the way people behave about it.  The harsh truth is that any girl who becomes pregnant in high school is labeled as a whore by her peers. Harsh, but true. When you see a pregnant girl walking down the hallway, what do you think? Whore. Slut. Skank. I know I have done it before. But then again, that's what I used to do. Then I stopped and started thinking. I don't know her. I don't know her circumstances. I don't know her life. Maybe she was raped. Maybe she wasn't just sleeping around with everyone. I have, at SEVERAL times, witnessed people gossiping in the hallways or on the internet. "so-and-so is pregnant" "really?" "what a whore" "figures;she sleeps around with half the school". That's usually about how the conversation goes. Or, that's at least the cleanest version of what I hear. Who are YOU to say they sleep around? Who are YOU to say what they are? You don't know their circumstances. You might be in their shoes someday. For example: I never thought I'd be in those shoes. I've been with my boyfriend for quite some time. We both love each other, and nothing has ever come between us. We've only been with one another. Does that make me a whore? According to the social ladder, it does. Why? Because we like to judge a book by its cover.  Honestly, I don't care for others' opinions of me. That's their decision, everyone is entitled to what they feel and think. The First Amendment: freedom of speech. I guess what I'm trying to say is that maybe instead of judging, you should get to know a person first. Just because a surface looks pretty, doesn't mean it's pretty on the inside. And just because a surface looks grungy, the inside may be beautiful. Before you judge, follow these steps.  Stop.  Think. And let the bad thoughts go.

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