It doesn't always do what it says on the tin.

I have subscribed to VOCAL a platform for writers and artists alike. After being told 'for the majority of my life' I am a terrible writer, I can't spell, I can't punctuate, I can of course perform. Always the joker at the party, the one with the bottle to go first at presentations, doesn't need a drink to perform or to present.

Been through the 'always wants attention' and other insults 'suffers from unstable personality disorder or ADHD. I have been rejected by many a person who can't handle my lack of inhibition.

Last but not least, I am eccentric, highly strung, you name it, I've got it. Hmmm.

I will be entering the writers competition for the prize of 20,000 Dollars, I don't expect to win. Expectation is not something you develop when you are criticised consistently about what you are unable to do

My answer to the critics is this: Ever stopped to figure the truth? Ever found your voice and enquired as to why I am so confident?

Why be so quick to judge? Why the constant discrimination and incriminations? Why are you looking for answers to my problems and not wondering why it is a problem for you, so much, you feel the need to give it a name?

Paranoia often sets in when other people find it so easy to judge. To find fault with others seems easier than actually doing something positive to enhance their own lives. I don't feel the need to explain myself or to wriggle out of my strange characteristics. If they see me as alien then so be it. I don't have the energy or the inclination to donate my time to ignorance. Ignorance is something we all have to live with. Ignorance, discrimination and prejudice. This is the world we live in. How can we ever come together as a nation when our experiences, primary & secondary socialisation and values are all so different.

Misunderstood is how we all are. Judged by the clothes we wear, the way we carry ourselves, the car we drive, the way we speak, where we live, who we befriend, the job we do, how we socialise, whether we socialise. If you can be seen you are there for the observation of the world. It is our nature to be curious about others and to attribute characteristics that we feel cluster together to give us the bigger picture of what we are dealing with.

The personality is made up of the ego, the ID and the Superego. Each of us are influenced by these needs. Society as a whole is a stage where we all want to succeed and to be better than the next person. Some of us find it easy and some of us struggle. Why do some people struggle when others seem to find their platform and succeed at everything?

The implicit personality plays a big part of our judgement of others. It is innate in all of us. It comes into play when we meet someone for the first time. We don't know anything about them and we automatically search for clues to who this is and what this person is about. It is our protection mechanism. Do we trust them? What are they capable of? This is a situation bias and leads to all sorts of conclusions that aren't neccesarily true. How could they be? You have no former knowledge of this individual. They literally came across your path 10 minutes ago. They were wearing one of those jackets that the nazis used to wear. They didn't smile at me. When they spoke it wasn't a voice I found particular attractive.

When I was at university many years ago. I did a research project on how much the jury were influenced by the attractiveness of the accused in murder trials. The outcome of that project was that people who were deemed to be stereotypically attractive were less likely to be found guilty of murder than people who were deemed ugly, with accordance to media standards. Attractiveness was assessed at being symetrical faces, big eyes like babies or young children, nice teeth, slim and in particular an articulate person was to be believed rather than someone with a dialect.

The answer lies in education. If we educate it will lead to an understanding that people can't be understood and fully comprehended in an instance. Maybe if we were all educated, the psychopaths that live amongst us wouldn't be so affective in their deception. With their superficial charm and often good looks and deviance towards vulnerable members of society for their own gain.

Caveat Emptor, this is latin for buyer beware. I believe we are all marketable commodities trying to apprehended by the best. But by doing so we need to be more aware and not be so easy to judge. Our actions can have serious consequences on our welfare and our achievements...