Baseball T's and Egyptian Cotton Sheets

One of the many things I will admit is that I have a tendency to wear my heart on my sleeve. I'm not necessarily proud of it, and it has caused me my share of scars and bad memories. Some of us are too gullible, then some of us are too skeptical. It can be quite difficult to define love or to define true friendship. Sometimes, we blind ourselves to the flaws of others or the flaws of a relationship because of fear. We can not let fear rule our lives, but we can not completely ignore it. It's what tells us to question. It's what provokes our curiosity.


As we go through our busy lives filled with sports, careers, education, and MAYBE our share of leisure, we are faced with many different kinds of people. Cheerful people, cynical people, sarcastic people, cautious people.. the list is endless. One thing that we are prone to do when meeting someone, is to judge them. Never judge a person who you've never met. Someone who SEEMS to be happy and positive could really be cutting herself in her bedroom closet because she suffers from depression. Someone who seems to be quiet and careful could really be a hardcore partier and an alcoholic. You can never be too sure of the people you've just met. Sometimes, you can't be too sure of the people you've known your entire life.


As shocking as it may seem, you might not REALLY know a person, but know the shadow or mask in which the person hides behind. Some people act the way they do because of the people they are around. Some people put on a show for a particular group of people. One of the main things I have learned in the past couple of months is that we can not judge someone completely based on someone's life decisions. For example, if my best friend started smoking pot and drinking, I would be highly disappointed, but I wouldn't let that get in the way of me being their friend. You must know how to adapt to other people without changing who you are. If a person's personal life decisions start changing who they are, then it may be time to accept that that person isn't who you once knew. Sometimes it's less destructive if you just walk away. It might not always be the easiest thing in the world to do at the time, but later on you might realize that it was the best thing you could have done.


On the opposing side, some people are simply programmed to cause pain. Many people are only out for themselves. Now, naturally some of these people can slip through the cracks if they are good actors, however in most cases, people skip acting class. By simply thinking logically, you might avoid heartbreak later down the road. For example: If you meet someone who constantly beats you down for wearing certain things or eating certain foods, evidence points towards that person having controlling tendencies. People like this need to be avoided because they feed off the very fabric of who you are. They pick and drill at what defines you as a person until you are whittled into what they want you to be. Or, maybe your situation is a bit more simplistic.  Perhaps, you just met a boy/girl who is ridiculously good looking. Among the thousands of other people trying to get with them, is you.  The person in question clearly flirts with everyone that surrounds them, including yourself. Say, they ask you out. Perhaps with a situation such as this, you should view the moral character of the person instead of their looks. There might be someone somewhere else that would be completely perfect for you that you might pass up because of this failed relationship. Or in the worst case, you end up getting out of this failed relationship with your heart shattered too much to ever truly trust again.


Ignorance is one of the worst diseases, in my eyes. I'm not saying to over analyze every situation you go into, because I can speak on behalf of over analytic people when I say YOU WILL CAUSE YOURSELF MORE PAIN AND CONFUSION BY DOING SO. All I'm asking is this: Would it really hurt you to think things over more once or twice and getting some valid feedback before jumping into a situation or pursuing a relationship with someone? Even if it's not feedback from another person. Simply evaluate a situation by thinking about it before you make any crazy decisions. You must learn how to deem a person trustworthy, and once you know that they are, then don't be afraid to take risks. Take responsible risks. Don't jump into something if the greatest outcome is heartache.


As confusing as this may sound, it makes complete sense. In summary: we all must be critical thinkers. Ask questions to yourself or to the person. Put yourself in the other person's shoes. Don't be selfish, actually ask, and think, and learn. The best thing you can give someone is a chance. But if you know you can't trust that person, and if you allow yourself to be blinded to their lyings tendencies, don't let that person take advantage of you, because you just might let that one failed relationship define who you are. You might allow that one person to take the biggest piece of your heart that you might never get back. 

"There is no slavery but ignorance. Liberty is the child of intelligence."

   ~ Robert G. Ingersoll