McCandless Project

Yesterday evening, I got together with my real close friends- Abby, Lily, and Delaney to work on our social experiments for Mrs. Belden’s Honors English l class. For our experiment, the four of us dressed in the craziest outfits we could put together, wore them into Panera Bread, and recorded bystanders reactions. People were kind of horrible towards my friends and I. Some kids pointed and laughed, while some elders just scowled in disapproval. There was one group of kids in that looked around our age that just would not stop talking and laughing about us. There were three people in the booth, two girls, and one boy. They were not holding much back and these were the kind of people that you could just tell, were extremely inconsiderate and very stuck up. They kept laughing and pointing! There was one example when Lily walked passed them and the boy sitting on the outside of the booth gave her the most judgemental look and said, “when bae walks by”. It was clear by then that we were being laughed at, not laughed with. The boy also called me a awkward turtle- making fun of my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle onesie. How rude! By the end of the night I was extremely sad. Not because of how people treated me personally, but the fact that there are kids that go into the world everyday and will get treated like this everywhere they go. It is sad and scary to think about. I was also super disappointed about how judgemental some people were. They did not know why we were wearing what we were so they should not be judging. What my friends and I were wearing could have been the only clothes we had and they would have no idea, so they should not be judging! I was surprised on all accounts- how I felt and how people were towards us. I never really noticed how judgemental people will be to other’s faces! It is extremely scary and surprising that some people think that treating others that was is acceptable. I honestly felt like I was a victim of bullying, and It made me mad that some people go through this all the time. Even though people were awful to my friends and I, I would absolutely do the experiment again! I was being mostly myself, and I had fun with my friends. You are free to be yourself, and not conform with society! Who are all of those people to judge me? I am sure all of them are just as insane as I am! So forget them! All in all, I am so happy I had this experience. It really opened my eyes to how insecure other people’s words and body language can make you feel and how judgemental the common man can be today. I think I will you think experience to make the world around me more positive and happy! I will hand out more compliments because then I will know that someone will not be feeling insecure about themselves that day!