Assignment #3: Writing prompt

We all tend to judge people by their appearances, even though looks can be deceiving. Have you ever prejudged someone incorrectly based on their appearance or has someone ever prejudged you?

The natural human inclination to judge was, and still remains, an instinct intended to keep us alive. We gravitate towards familiar things (and people) because we know or assume they are safe. When met with something or someone the likes of which we have never encountered, we are concerned for our safety and are therefore cautious and act accordingly. Judgments can also be formed indirectly and influenced by the experiences and opinions of others around you (for example, even though you may have never dealt with fire, you know it is dangerous because others have told you).This sense of judgment, though useful in life-threatening  situations, can often go too far and create social barriers in today's society. Everything from the color of someone's skin to their choice of wardrobe and even the type of vehicle and other possessions they own causes us to judge them the second we see them. We pull up every thing we think we know about "that type of person" and allow it to shape how we see them even though it likely doesn't apply to them at all. Most of the time we avoid them due to their apparent differences and never give ourselves a chance to learn about the real them.
I, like many others, wear my differences on the outside. I have Cerebral Palsy, a physical disability that affects my ability to walk. For that reason I use a wheelchair to get around and am almost always in it while out in public. While my means of modality are perfectly common-place to myself and my close family and friends, others react very oddly (and often rudely) when met with the image of me in my wheelchair. Often I catch people staring at me or hurrying their children out of my presence. Worse yet is when people speak to me as if I were a child no older than 5 and direct the "adult" questions and commentary to the seemingly more competent human accompanying me. These automatic responses to my mere appearance used to make me feel like something less than human-- some grotesque being to be gawked at or pitied, but after years of dealing with it I have come to realize that strangers respond this way because they don't understand-- They don't know how to react because they don't have anyone like me in their lives, and that's okay. I just have to give them a chance to get to know me-- to learn that I am just a normal girl who talks to much, laughs when things get awkward, buys far too many books, goes out to movies with friends, binge-watches Netflix, and yes-- happens to sit down a lot.