"Mind Reader" by pseudo

It’s all quiet except for the sound of pens on paper; Students are furiously putting pen to paper on the AP exam. You can feel the pressure pulsating from every student in that room, except from me. What am I doing? Instead of writing my AP Lang essay I’m looking into people’s minds. I stare across the room at this girl who’s in my class. She’s writing just as hard as everyone else. But, I’m thinking to myself, “what does her voice sound like?” I could have sworn that she was so quiet that she never said a word in my class. I start thinking about why people are the way they are. What makes people not say a word in class? Then it hits me, it’s a realization that I’ve had for a long time. We have no idea what is going on in the lives of others. There’s definitely a reason that made her not want to talk in class. Something that could very easily be good or bad. I’ve heard people pass judgments and say it’s weird and I think to myself, if we knew the cause of the silence would we change our judgment?

I daydream in class too. I wonder why someone who perpetually says, “I’m fine” isn’t actually fine. I recently heard that an old friend of mine just went through his parents’ divorce. I had no idea what was going on his life, but he still came to school looking the same as if nothing had happened. I had always treated him nicely because we were friends, but would that be different if I didn’t like him?

I frequently wonder about what goes through people’s minds when I’m in the car. Obviously, I’m not driving because I’d probably crash if I did. Over the summer I was an intern at my dad’s office and on our morning commute I’d look out at the other drivers. People would be talking on the phone, glaring at the road, or listening to music. I thought to myself, what would it be like to switch roles? What if I lived a day in their shoes? When I thought about that scenario it brought endless questions to my mind. Questions like: is going to work exciting or is it an escape from sadness at home?

I think we can all admit that not everyday is sunshine and rainbows. But, the mistake we make is assuming that it is for others. Whenever we feel down in the dumps we feel alone. We feel helpless and we think that we are being singled out by chance. However, the idea that it’s not just you doesn’t pop into our minds. The idea that I’m not the only one who feels sad, and in my friends case, he’s not the only one who’s going through a divorce. I wish people would think of this because it makes the low points in life bearable.

Most importantly, I want people to realize that when we go through tough spells in our life, so do others, and that means that we have to treat everyone with kindness. Imagine being depressed and then going to school only to have people make fun of you. That’s what makes people feel like they are alone. I want to combat that because mental health is an issue that isn’t talked about enough and it affects us all. A show of kindness to a stranger who’s going through a tough time can really mean a lot to them. So, that’s why it’s important that we realize that we have control only over our lives and that we should treat strangers kindly regardless of what we assume about them. We need to stop trying to read people’s minds and pass judgments. Instead, we should be kind to everyone we meet because at the end of the day one small act of kindness can go a long way.