Putting Myself Out There

I've been dealing with discrimination for many years. There are so many people out there who judge me based on my weight and not on my heart that I have learned to keep inside myself. This is a hard thing for me since I am naturally interested in people (from my years as a reporter) and like to talk and find out about others. But it has become increasingly hard for me to do this when I sense others disapproval of me.

In my new effort to have a more positive outlook (as per President Hinckley's example) I am trying to put myself out there again. Sometimes I think that we see only the outside and if we can get a glimpse of what a person is truly like we'll see that the two don't always blend. The movie "Shallow Hal" illustrates this quite nicely, I think, when Hal is given the chance to see people as they are inside. A quite beautiful woman looks hideous because she is selfish and greedy, while someone who is very unattractive looks very handsome because they are loving and compassionate and generous.

And truth be told, don't we all have flaws? Mine are just so obvious that it's easy to make a snap judgement of me. Others can hide theirs easier. I think if we can overcome our fears and be open with each other we can learn, truly learn, that we are all brothers and sisters. Discrimination of any kind is wrong, and we know that. But sometimes we need to be reminded. These old adages like "you can't judge a book by its cover" hang on year after year because they are true.

I just wanted to say that if you have a problem with someone give them a chance. Maybe they are dealing with something you know nothing about. A good friend of mine used to say that if you scratched the surface of anyone you will find a hero underneath. We're all heroes, doing the best we can in this life. We all want to love and be loved, we all want to be seen and heard for who we are, not what we are.

I hope I can do that. I know I'm going to try.