A different perspective
From a different view, anything can take on a whole new meaning.
Being a part of The Stampede, I often ponder my opinion of things. I’ve gotten into the habit of trying to formulate an opinion of different concepts or products as soon as they pop up into my mind. It makes writing out those opinions much easier.
At the start of this habit, I would sometimes think negatively of a product only to change my mind within moments. I would rationalize it in my head, look at it from another point of view, or simply not find it as annoying or bad upon a second thought.
Because of this, a person’s lack of action, a lazy cash grab of a product, or a simple mistake on someone’s behalf can turn from annoying and unwarranted to understandable and even commendable.
In fact, Albert Einstein has a perfect quote for this: “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
When you’re at a restaurant, it may seem that you are not being serviced like you want. Your server is too slow, they aren’t there when you need them, and they always seem to be passing up your table, but then you consider all that they’re doing: they’ve gotten your drinks and taken your order, they’ve ensured that your table has been cleared off, cleaned, and swept under, and they’re doing this for every table and every group of people put under their charge, which may be as much as six different tables at once. When you put all of that into mind, it doesn’t seem unwarranted when your server passes you up to deliver a heavy tray of food to another table.
When I go into the theaters to watch a movie, I sometimes (very rarely) go into it expecting, sometimes wanting, to hate a movie. I was once dragged into a showing of The Emoji Movie by my little sister one night. Previously, I had sworn off watching the movie on the merit that its concept was stupid and that it was just a hopeless cash grab for the parents of young children to throw their money at.
When my sister and I got out, I didn’t mind it. I didn’t think the movie was mentally stimulating by any means, but it also wasn’t mentally exhausting either. There were moments where I would roll my eyes at how a character would over react to something minor and in turn ruin everything for everyone else, but there were also times in which I would genuinely find myself smiling at how a scene was presented.
![](https://wrhsstampede.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/emoji-475x180.jpg)
I don’t think I’ll be giving it another watch anytime soon, but I wouldn’t insist others turn it off if it happened to come on TV. On that day in the theatre, I was judging a movie based on its concept not its actual content, and considering how the movie is made for kids, it wasn’t half bad.
Of course there are things that people do or movies that are inexcusable despite a second view, but I feel that life can have a tint to it if you try to see the positives or the other side of the things that may annoy you.
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![Photo of Keegan Moore](https://wrhsstampede.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Keegan-Moore-1-Recovered-475x337.jpg)
Keegan Moore is a senior at Wiregrass Ranch High School and this is his first year writing for The Stampede. Keegan is an officer in Gaming club. His...
Detra • Apr 26, 2018 at 1:22 pm
I totally agree with your article and the comments made by James and Tara. I learned a long time ago to research things for myself and to conclude with my on opinion. Everyone is different so every opinion can be different. On the other hand, I weigh heavily on the reviews of movie critics. Also, if I have not seen a movie but it won awards for best film, I am more than likely to watch it if it seems interesting to me. For example, I usually don’t watch movies that are given less than 3 stars on Netflix. Thank you for your article and your perspective. I plan to take your advice and not pre-judge in the future.
Tara Hommel • Apr 24, 2018 at 1:14 pm
Yes very true statements! The old adage of “not to judge a book by its cover” fits here perfectly. Many times we see a movie trailer, a book review, or restaurant review and we immediately judge them as something we don’t want to “waste” our time or money on, but sometimes we can go view or try them anyway and be pleasantly surprised and excited to see we were actually wrong in prejudging.
James Moore • Apr 24, 2018 at 12:05 pm
I like this article; how it’s written and its context. Perception is powerful. This a great reminder for me personally. It’s important to be aware of what shapes one’s perceptions and how that affects one’s outlook on life, relationships, etc. Self awareness hepls one understand why and how opinions are formed. Also, timing plays a role. What we enjoyed a few years ago, we may not enjoy today and vice-versa. Are opinions or perceptions today may change tomorrow.
This article is thought-provoking and has a layered effect on the reader relative to their current state of mind; their perception.