“LAWYER!” you scream. Then, pop! An image of a person in a suit, holding a briefcase, with a perpetual stern expression on their face, would be the first thing to pop in my mind. Stereotypes.
Telling me to stay still, was exactly like telling water not to flow. I was restless, I was excited, and I just wanted to start my internship! My eyes jogged over the words of the non-disclosure agreement, and I held the pen in my right hand as it hovered over the area were my signature would soon be. I lowered the pen, and scribbled my name. It’s official, I’m finally an intern at a law firm! I came out of the office, and that was when the magnitude of people in suits hit me, but no where did I see anyone holding a briefcase, and no where did I see any stern faces. In fact, they were smiling and laughing. All of them! I was wrong. I stereotyped.
The Holocaust is a reflection of the consequences of stereotyping and prejudice. Both are reflected in the way Arabs and Muslims are treated, the way people think girls are not good enough at sports and the way a man who sends too much time on his computer or read too many comics is a geek. This experience made me realize that a lot of my reasoning has been built on stereotypes. Why? Because it makes life a ton more easier, but, it also makes life a ton more shallower since stereotypes are views of the small-minded. No one wants to be small minded and neither do I, and so in the days to come I plan to become a mindful and knowledgable individual, with a "larger" mind.