We have surely all heard to old saying, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” My parents taught it to me and I teach it to my children then turn around and tell them how important our appearance is in the real world.

In the movie Shrek, we learned the importance of not judging a book by its cover after we realized that this ugly green scary looking ogre was really a very sweet and caring individual. In the movie, Shrek was compared to an onion because like an onion he had layers. His outer layer was what is considered by most to be ugly and quite scary looking; underneath this layer was another layer of toughness because of how he was treated by others for his appearance. Underneath these ugly, scary and tough layers though was a strong, loving and devoted individual who once you got to know him you couldn’t help but to like him. However, we do not live in the movies. In the real world we are always judged by our appearance! If a persons appearance isn’t up to par the individual doing the judging usually won’t open up the opportunity to learn about the other person’s personality.

Before going to a job interview the employer has seen our resume. From this resume he or she can determine if our skills and job history meet the requirements for the job he/she is offering. This can tell a little about the applicant’s personality as far as if he or she stayed in jobs for long periods of time the person is generally deemed as dedicated, if he or she obtained a college degree the person is also considered as dedicated, and so on. However, if someone show up for the interview wearing jeans and a t-shirt he or she probably will not get the job regardless of the person’s skills and experience. Unless the job is one that requires very little skill such as fast food or labor, applicants are expected to appear in a professional manner.

Even during school students are judged by how they dress and how they carry themselves. If someone dresses grungy and slouches they are judged as being lazy and uncaring but it doesn’t mean they are teens go through all sorts of phases but other teens, and even some adults, do not understand this nor do they understand how judging children unfairly can affect them negatively for the rest of their life.

If a person is fat, has crooked or missing teeth, maybe doesn’t have money for good clothes, people tend to avoid this person and won’t even attempt to get to know him or her. On the opposite end, many thinner people endure harsh judgment simply because they are beautiful and some believe that beautiful people on the outside are hateful snobby you-know-what’s on the inside. Sometimes thinner people aren’t what is considered as beautiful on the outside maybe they have crooked or missing teeth and dress poorly they too are judged harshly based on how they look.

Is this a fair way to judge someone? My heart wants to say no but the reality is more times than not these comparisons are true. I do try to give people the benefit of doubt by trying to get to know them for who they are and not what they look like but usually it doesn’t take long to prove that you can indeed judge a book by its cover. However, this is not always the case so people should give others a chance and get to know them before judging them.

When I look at the times I gave someone a chance and it turned out that his or her personality was not what one would expect I am grateful that my parents taught me the importance of not judging a book by its cover. While I continue to teach this to my children I do continue to teach them the importance of appearance because we live in a real world.