How many times a day are you judged based on your looks? How many times a day do you judge someone’s appearance? In both cases, the numbers are probably too high to count.

When I walk to class, I know that I judge everyone I pass, putting them into neat little categories whether it is skater, jock or hot girl who I want to talk to.

Our society is dependent in this way on the ability to interact with people through sight. We worry what others think of our appearance while judging the appearance of others. This irony is the reason we spend so much time and money constantly tweaking our image.

Whether you get a new hairstyle or a coat, we are all guilty of it. I myself have my hair gel and my teeth-whitening mouthwash next to my bed and, I admit, I use both every morning.

Now imagine if that was all eliminated. Imagine if everyone on Earth was blind. What would our society be like? How would we interact with people? Well, one thing is for sure: Victoria’s Secret would be out of business.

In all seriousness, though, we would save so much money on makeup, hair products and designer clothing. We would stop worrying about appearance altogether. In fact, the only way to judge someone would be to actually have a conversation with them; to listen to what they say and not worry about how they look.

In fact, there are many cases when people worry about how they look way too much, even to the point of hurting themselves.

According to NationalEatingDisorders.org, nearly 10 million women and 1 million men in the U.S. suffer from eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. All of this is driven by mass media and our natural instinct to judge people based on appearance.

Blindness is not a disability, but the ability to see the world without eyes.

If our world can see without eyes, we will be one step closer in ending so many cases of oppression, racism and discrimination—all of which have crippled our society for decades.

Now I admit, Dr. Seuss had it right when he wrote The Sneetches. People will judge others based on anything, even if they were blind. However, if we as a society move past any judgements based on superficial aspects like appearance and begin to judge based on a person’s intelligence, personality and character, we would all benefit.

So here is my challenge to you: Strive to see the world without eyes; if you do, who cares if you are white, black or purple? Who cares if you buy your clothes from Hollister or Walmart, and who cares what you look like?

Making the world a better place starts here and now, and all you have to do is live as if you’re blind.