Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover

This past weekend Katy Perry’s A Part of Me debuted in theaters. I didn’t really give it a second thought. I enjoy her music, more of the meaningful lyrical songs… “Wide Awake” is my favorite. I’m not a big enough fan to go out and watch a documentary of life. The last pop artist that did a film was Justin Bieber, Never Say Never, which bombed. I like reading the reviews of movies before I watch them so I would know if I should wait for the DVD or rent it offline. Wait… Do DVDs still exist? Anyways, I was reading the reviews on Ted, and out of curiosity I clicked on Katy Perry’s reviews. A majority of them were very positive stating the documentary not only follows her career, but shows a side of vulnerability during her the breakup with Russell Brand. She began filming before the troubled ending, showing a woman madly in love to extremely broken hearted. The anxiety and stress it caused her, explaining why she had to cancel some of her appearances. Moments where she would cry, having to wipe the tears from her face to immediately walk out to an audience with a beaming smile. The reviews have inspired me to go watch it… after I see Ted.

It is very hard being in a public eye, to have your life scrutinized by strangers. People judge by a person’s image verses the person as a whole. It’s only a part of their life; no one knows what they have been through, or who they truly are. I know I’ve mentioned before about not judging others I write about, but I suppose I didn’t speak in regards to myself. I guess because I don’t care. I understand putting my life online, leaves me open to people’s judgments thinking maybe I’m just some Vegas promiscuous party girl living this good life. I’m by no means a celebrity, but I have a little taste of what feels like having people assume you are one way without knowing very much about you. It actually was a positive experience, making me rethink about how I present myself not only to readers, but those who don’t really know me.

I represent myself as a strong, independent woman, rarely showing vulnerability. I try not to care what people think of me. I don’t care if people like me or not, I am who I am so I decide I will do what I want. I take on other people’s problems and emotions and try to help those who are in need. People can talk negatively about me, but I ignore it knowing I have enough friends that know who I really am. I put a lot of stress on myself, and I choose to make choices a lot don’t understand. After I’ve consumed too much, I break. My stress level snaps and I’m forced in situation where I have to put everything on the line.

Despite my fun, active life, I have been dealing with a situation that has taken quite a toll on me. As I try not to care what people think about me, I would be lying if I said it doesn’t sometime eat at me. Most things you hear from others can be exaggerated and you really don’t know if it you should believe it. I reached a point this past weekend where I was forced to confront the situation, and I had reached my breaking point. I had to put every ounce of my faith in a person I’ve heard very negative things about in regards to myself. I still at this point don’t know what to believe, but I was surprised that perhaps I may have been too quick to judge. It’s hard to understand the reasons behind someone’s actions, but hearing the other side of the story I realized unless you are in it, you can’t assume. This person opened my eyes to how people can quickly judge me for putting my life online for all to see because it’s such a small part of it. I took a risk and found someone who I thought was my enemy was the only one that could help me. It brought me to a level of respect with this person I didn’t know I could have. I learned that even though you shouldn’t care what others think, sometimes fate brings people together for a reason. You have to sacrifice your pride for a greater good.

A much known quote by Dr. Suess is, “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” As I think this is one of the most important things to remember because everyone should say and feel how they want, don’t forget those who don’t matter may be someone you need. Today everyone and everything about them can be found in a matter seconds. Whether it’s on social media, in the tabloids, in a blog, a story found on Google, or by the words of a friend or stranger, remember it is only a milligram of people’s true lives. No one should have to explain themselves, but when it is needed, listen and be open-minded. Nothing is ever what it seems. If people chose not to believe or go forth with their own opinions, let them. Just remember those who think you know may not be who you think, could be a lot like you, and in the end, be someone you need. Never judge a book by its cover because until you read the story, you will never know what is truly inside.