Pet Peeve Speech

Pet Peeve Speech
When you think of football players the general thought is of a built guy, unless its flag football where it’s usually a female or a younger boy. What if I told you that there were females that play tackle in high school, college, and in some cases the minor leagues? Would you be surprised, would you bash them, or would you support them? My biggest pet peeve is stereotyping such as when men put women in a category of not being strong enough because our place is, “in the kitchen”, so we could make the man a sandwich. I for one am tired of being discriminated in this way. Now I’m not going to lie I make a pretty good sandwich but that’s not because I’m a woman it’s because my DAD worked in a deli and taught me a thing or two about the art. I’m not saying that women don’t do it to men because we do and that aggravates me as well. We tend to look at someone and think that their looks tie in with their personality when most likely they don’t. For instance if one was to see a guy or girl in “preppy” clothing the mind of some tend to think that person is a jerk or if a person is wearing all black they’re either a senior or have serious parental issues. We all do it, some more than others, but it’s something that occurs daily.

A wise man once said “The loneliest people are the kindest, the saddest people smile the brightest, the most damaged people are the wisest. All because they don’t want to see anyone else suffer the way they do.” I am no stranger to stereotyping…let me rephrase that, I am no stranger to others stereotyping me. Up until a year and a half ago I was going through a really bad depression I had no one to talk to mostly because everyone looked at me and thought, “Wow she must be a…mean person” or “she’s a whore” and I know that’s what people think because a lot of my friends have told me that’s what they thought when they first met me. Let me clarify something I am neither of those things. Am I a virgin? No, but not by choice. I was raped from the time I was 11 until I was 15 by a man I trusted the most. My step- dad. That scarred me enough as it is, but when you hear what people say without knowing the background story of said person could really hurt them mentally, sometimes that mental abuse could lead to thoughts of suicide and sometimes those thoughts turn into a reality. When I finally spoke up I had no one my mom abandoned me, my father was dead and the majority of my family stood by my step-father. I was by myself. Coming here was no joyride in the beginning for me either. People went straight to judging the new girl, “why is she here?” I asked myself that question a lot myself. However things changed about a year and a half ago when I finally had some people to talk to, to help me forget about being abandoned and all the nasty things people said because of how I looked. I don’t know if they know this but they pretty much saved me from myself. There are still some people who look at me at say all the stereotypical nonsense, and yes it aggravates me to no end but it doesn’t bother me as much when it happens to me but to others. I tend to befriend the “outcasts” or the “weirdos” because I was once them.
I guess what I’m trying to say is next time you see someone stop and think before you say something, because she may look cute but she’ll mess you up if you don’t speak to her correctly, he may look like a jerk but he could be the sweetest guy you’ve ever known, or she may look happy but inside she’s torn to pieces. Think before you speak. Thank you.