Now I'm mad!!

In the matter of 15 minutes, I think that I just had the most racially/physically discriminating conversation that I've ever had in my life. Context: Because of my learning challenge, I receive extra time on all tests and I have the option to take tests in quiet room to avoid distractions that are inevitable within the classroom.  My HPE (Health/Fitness) midterm is this Thursday and I needed to submit some paperwork to my professor so that my test is taken to the appropriate location.  He was not in, but I gave the form to his assistant who felt the need to chat me up and "share" a few thoughts with me.

"You people have great aging genes" - this is actually complementary, but it was the "you people" that rubbed me the wrong way.

"You know, if your more than 10lbs overweight, your a candidate for diabetes.  Who in your family has it?" - ummm, really?

"Your ankles and knees have to hurt" - my ankles and knees don't have to hurt because I'm overweight.

"There is no way that you can pass the field test because of your size" - lady, you don't know who you are talking too, my name is Rochelle Juanita Elizabeth Barnes and when I put my mind to something, no one can stop me

"Once you loose 20-30lbs, you'll be so proud of yourself and everyone will say you look so good!" - honestly, I'm not sure how to respond to that one...

There was more said that will just stay there in the office.  Part of me wants to say, "ohh, it doesn't matter!" but that would be lying because it does matter.  Assumptions about a person are made on the physical exterior of a person.  Before a word is uttered, we've been sized up and judged.  How large or small we are, how our clothes look on us, our style, our hair...all of those things are used to decide who we are but consider taking time to know a person minus what they look like.  Here there are tall people, short people, skinny people, fat people, deaf people, blind people, dancers, writers, musicians, theologians, thinkers, talkers......we all are different and unique.  Embrace it.  Yeah, I may never be a size 10 or I may never be a confident writer, but I can be the best Rochelle that God created.