Honest Mistakes by Emily

Honest Mistakes by Emily - March 2017 Scholarship Essay

If you saw my 6’5, 300 pound stepdad, you would probably assume he is very masculine. However, he loves watching Twilight (he’s Team Edward by the way) and the fabulous Project Runway. In fact, he’s one of the few dads who enjoys prom season. But, hey, honest mistake. This example shows how often assumptions are made about everything. Assumptions can be inaccurate especially if we don’t ask questions or gather the truth. Therefore, I will explain assumptions, examine examples, and discuss solutions without jumping to conclusions.

The book,Critical Thinking, says “An inference is an intellectual act by which one concludes that something is true in light of something else’s being true." However, assumptions simply mean believing things are a certain way with little or no evidence that shows you are correct. Dr. Miguel Ruiz states, “We even assume we are right about our assumptions to the point, that we will destroy relationships.”

There are four common mistakes that can be made with assumptions every day. First, you can miss opportunities. Thomas Edison gave his mother a note from his teacher and she wept. He asked her what was wrong, so she read it aloud “your son is a genius. This school is too small for him and doesn’t have good enough teachers. Please teach him yourself.” Sounds amazing but that’s not what the note said. When she died, he found and read it. His teacher called him “troubled,” meaning he had a learning disability. She jumped to the conclusion that he couldn’t be educated. If his mother believed that assumption, well he probably wouldn’t have grown up to prove he was a genius. But, hey, honest mistake.

Second, you can become overconfident. Usually, you become blind to signs that indicate things are going wrong. At those times, things are most likely to fall apart. For example, on Sunday, December 7, 1941, a US radar officer spotted a large group of planes and called his commander—who assumed that the planes were American. Despite the knowledge that we caught midget submarine on our territory the day before. Like what Lemony Snicket said “Assumptions are dangerous things to make, and like all dangerous things to make-a bomb, for instance,-if you make even the tiniest mistake you can find yourself in terrible trouble.” Less than two hours later, 2,400 Americans died and 1,200 were wounded at Pearl Harbor. But, hey, honest mistake.

Third, you tend to misunderstand other people. For example, if you hear the word “Muslim,” you automatically think “ISIS” or “terrorist.” This leads to many assumptions toward the religion itself. In Georgia, a teacher assumed a 13-year old girl wearing a hijab had a bomb in her backpack and was arrested. When her teacher’s assumption was proven wrong, the girl’s father said “We are Muslims living in America, I didn’t teach my children to hate.” The principal apologized. Honest mistake. Assumptions are so dangerous that Muslim women are being pelted with stones; families are being shot at; mosques, homes, and schools being vandalized; and kids as young as four are being bullied for their religion.

Fourth, assumptions lead to errors in judgment and action. Until this century, mentally ill were confused with mentally impaired and were assumed not to be worthy of voting rights. This scene happened exactly with schizophrenic Ken Steele. He became a leader in the mentally ill voting rights and reformed State hospitals. But don’t think that the label of mentally ill doesn’t still make people assume certain things today. It leads to bullying, shunning, and isolation. There is a history for assuming certain people are not worthy for voting rights. If I was born 80 years ago, I would be denied voting rights’ for being a woman, I would be assume not to have the mental capacities to be worthy of voting rights. Assumptions are dangerous.

If we were taught anything it is that we shouldn’t play with dangerous things. So what should we do instead? First, we survive with the truth above the assumptions. We survived as a country after Pearl Harbor. Thomas Edison survived without a formal education. The Muslim faith survives as a worldwide religion. The mentally ill survived the treacherous discrimination. Women earned their voting rights with nonviolence. A way to keep ourselves from making assumptions is to ask questions until we are clear about a given situation. Once we hear the answers, we won’t have to make assumptions because we will know the truth. You’ll recover all the energy you invested in making assumptions, use that energy to create something real. Without false assumptions, you’ll be able to focus on the truth and see life for what it is. Relationships will no longer suffer from conflicts created by mistaken assumptions and be free of emotional poison. Communication will become impeccable and if there was impeccable communication—there would be no wars, violence, misunderstandings, or assumptions. In other words, don’t make assumptions. Make this agreement a habit and you will be transformed.

In conclusion, we all know the saying: "don’t make assumptions or else you’ll make a you-know-what out of me and you." These examples have the common factor of assumptions. But we survived and are aware of where the problem starts. Pass on the truth to the generation instead of incorrect assumptions to make us better. Believe in the truth rather than honest mistakes.