"Hey, did you hear what happened to Stacy's dad?"

"Did you see that girl she was with that had a nose ring and a tattoo?"

"I heard they were hugging some guys at the bar last night."

These are just a few phrases I have heard in the past few months concerning my actions and my life.

For as long as I can remember, I have been judged for the stupidest things.

Like my father.

My father's infidelities and mistakes have haunted me since I was old enough to understand. Just because my dad did something does not mean I will repeat his mistakes. Generational curses are made to be broken. It really hurts when people expect the worst because of my parent. My dad did not go to college, so I was obviously not smart enough to further my education.

Nothing good ever came out of the Temple family, so my brothers and I do not stand a chance.

I always hear things like, "Are you related to so and so?" "Did your uncle get out of jail yet?" "You are in college?"

No. I don't know, and yes, I'll graduate in a year. My brother is in graduate school.

I have also been judged because of my friends.

I have friends who interracially date and friends who are gay. I have loud friends, punk friends, wild friends and redneck friends.

Because of my friends' lifestyles, I am thought to be a bad person.

I get called degrading names and told I'm going to hell if I don't help them clean up their life.

Certain comments make me sick to my stomach.

"Did you know he was gay?"

Yes, I know. Since when does someone's sexual preference affect their personality or kind heart?

I also hate when people judge my friends who have pink hair and listen to heavy metal music.

Just because they listen to screaming, angry music, doesn't mean they are capable of school shootings or shoplifting.

People judge me as being stupid because I like to sit on a tailgate and drink beer. I might speak with a Southern accent, hang out with guys who drive big trucks with mud tires and prefer guys who can kill their own dinner. But does that make me stupid?

It makes me smart because I know people who are self-reliant.

I also get judged for mindless gossip.

My favorite so far was kissing three guys at the bar one night.

Or at least that's the story that got back to the guy I liked.

The truth was, I drank two beers, danced a little, and I really did not have a good time.

He thinks I kissed three guys, so we do not even talk anymore.

I was judged over a misunderstanding.

I am not perfect; I make mistakes just like the rest of the human race. But constantly being judged because of those mistakes is not fun.

Yet, it is reality that everyone, including me, is guilty of.

You have heard the saying "Don't judge a book by its cover."

It is time everyone followed that motto.

Or, you can disregard my entire column.

"I can't believe she wrote that."

"What did Stacy's dad do?"

"Stacy won't amount to anything; she can't write."

Yeah, I know what you are thinking.

And I really don't give a damn.

Stacy Temple is a junior journalism major from Fort Necessity and serves as associate editor of The Tech Talk. E-mail comments to slt019@latech.edu.