Looks are deceiving, and appearances tell lies, no matter what people say, there isn’t anyway to get around it; we all judge people on the way they look, and how they dress. I can personally say I feel the pain of this in some ways. Now, I know this is partly my fault for enjoying having holes punched in my body and my hair dyed and cut in unnatural ways. However this does not necessarily dictate my belief system or even my behavior toward other people.

I hold open doors for little old men and ladies, I am almost always guaranteed a thank you and an odd look from them, I say thank you to the bus driver, I love working with kids and animals. These things surprise people; as a friend of mine once said “Shannon you look all ‘grrrr’ on the outside but you are made of puppies and babies on the inside.”

But what I think surprises people the most are my political beliefs. I am on the conservative side of things for many areas of life and politics. Now some of you are saying, “How can this be the writer we are reading? You come from a racially mixed family; you have learning disabilities; and for heavens sake you have a nose ring.”

I am a defender of the 2nd Amendment; I am pro-life for the most part; I have a strong faith in God; I am even on the Rudy Giuliani Street Team, mostly because he seems like the candidate that most closely aligns with my views on the world.

Does this really change the kind of person I am? Does this change your opinion of me as a human? Am I still the punk rock listening, hair dying, body piercing getting, loud and rowdy Shannon you know? No I am still that chick, this is just another part of me I feel I can’t hide and shouldn’t hide from you anymore.

So as you are walking down the street and you see that suit and tie wearing, slicked back hair, cigar smoking, 50-something person standing next to that green haired, pierced, and tattooed 20 something chick, take a second look and a second thought about where they might stand on the political spectrum of things or the type of person they are in general.