Judge and Jury.

We are individuals. We think, we feel, we live differently than the being standing directly across the room from us. Neither of us is necessarily right, we are just different than the other. People judge on stature; they judge dependent upon grace, agility, appearance, hospitality, faith, and wealth. And no matter what you may or may not do, there will always be the judgment despite the fact that legally, most of us are not qualified to make the final decision. We do not control a jury, but are forced into becoming our own employed attorneys of defense. The plaintiffs force us into initial instinct to fight, so we claw our ways through the slander to prove our cases while we pray the biased jury will see our side, and give us a glimmer of exoneration. We urge them to remember that we are individuals - that we think, feel, and live differently than each other, but all strive for the same thing. Acceptance. We hope that they appreciate the honesty, and the resemblances we share. We fear that the altercation will be too much to recover from. While we wait for a verdict, we reflect on our choices and we feel. Something. But we feel. And when the verdict is returned as "guilty," we know we must learn to live with our conviction. We are our own judge and jury. We issue innocence and guilt freely based on anger, jealousy, and our own personal turmoil. But there is hope at the end of the day. Because just as quickly as the gavel was pounding your sentence, there is always another judge who has ruled in your favor, and you are accepted for everything that you are. And in that moment the hardships of your previous trial are dissolved, and you have won without the bitterness of a fight.

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