Don't Judge a Book by its Cover

It was the first day of fourth grade and I thought I was the coolest cat in the alley. Lunch time came around so I eagerly ran to the lunch line, got my lunch, and found a spot at the table designated for my class. As I was eating my lunch, I looked around and, in utter disgust, realized there was a new girl sitting at my table. I picked apart everything I possibly could about her. She was wearing an ugly black sweater with baggy jeans, and she had red hair as well, which at the time I thought was ugly too. From the start I tagged her as a loser and had no doubt in my mind that we would never be friends. I glared at her in hopes that she would see me and know exactly what I was thinking. As time went by, we maintained our distance and I made sure to glare at her every day.

One day, she decided to come talk to me at lunch. I was extremely reluctant to be nice, however, I was. She went on to tell me a little bit about herself, and before I even noticed we were telling each other stories and laughing uncontrollably. She ended up asking me to hang out and I decided to take her up on the offer.

From that day on, we sat together every day at lunch. We were inseparable and to this day we remain really close friends. I cannot imagine my life without her and the lessons she has taught me. I look back now and I realize I judged the book by the cover. I knew absolutely nothing about her, but in the beginning I hated her. I had no intentions of ever hanging out with her because of what she looked like the first day I saw her.

It is really easy to judge people before you get to know them and as much as I have tried to not do it after that situation I still find myself doing it sometimes. Looks have virtually nothing to do with what people have to offer. Who someone is on the inside is much more beautiful and meaningful than who someone is on the outside. Looks can only go so far in relationships and it is important to not judge a book by its cover. I learned an extremely valuable lesson from this situation and I will hold her dear to my heart forever. We look back now and laugh at what I thought of her, however, it still bothers me that I was so quick to judge. Not only do I now think she is beautiful on the outside, but her heart and soul is what I value most about her.